Britons set to travel to Spain in the coming weeks have been warned that the Spanish Government could soon implement extra health checks to prevent a deadly disease from spreading as it’s declared a “public health emergency of international concern”

Concerns about an uptick in mpox cases across Europe are escalating following the identification of a new virus variant in Sweden.

Madrid’s health bosses are on “high alert’ as they recommended that the Government fortify its defences to prevent the spread of the disease.

At Barajas Airport, Spain’s busiest, increased health checks are reportedly being implemented along with stringent monitoring of arrivals from African nations where the virus is rampant.

Carlos Novillo, Madrid’s environmental head honcho, has urged the Ministry of Health to proactively “take preventive measures, especially in Barajas, an important airport that registers a large flow of travellers daily instead of just being reactive.”

Latest figures from the WHO reveal that mpox infections have been reported in approximately 13 countries in the Americas, involving various strains this year.

Specialist John Claude Udahemuka cautioned: “It’s undoubtedly the most dangerous of all the known strains of mpox, considering how it is transmitted, how it is spread, and also the symptoms.”

He stressed the need for countries to prepare for the spread of the virus amid a surge of cases worldwide.

Mr Udahemuka added: “Everyone should get prepared. Everyone should be able to detect the disease as early as possible. But more importantly, everyone should support the local research and local response so that it doesn’t spread”.

A second individual has been confirmed to have contracted the lethal new strain of mpox outside Africa, leading the WHO to declare it a “public health emergency”.

A surge in cases of the disease, formerly known as monkeypox, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and other African countries has sparked global concern.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified mpox as a public health emergency of international concern – a classification previously used for Covid-19 and Ebola outbreaks.

To date, no cases of this new strain of mpox sweeping across Africa have been reported in the UK, but a second case has now been discovered elsewhere.

A man in Thailand tested positive this week, following an earlier diagnosis in Sweden.

Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, Thailand’s director-general of the Department of Disease Control, reported that the patient was “infected with the Clade 1b strain of monkeypox”.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It can cause flu-like symptoms including fever, muscle aches, and a skin rash or pus-filled lesions that can last two to four weeks.