- Laboratory tests confirmed the patient was infected with mpox Clade 1b.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) will be informed of the development.
- The WHO has declared a global public health emergency due to the new mpox variant.
On Thursday, Thailand confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox in a patient who had traveled from Africa. The patient arrived in Bangkok on August 14 and was hospitalized with mpox symptoms.
The Department of Disease Control reported that laboratory tests confirmed the 66-year-old European man was infected with mpox Clade 1b.
“Thailand’s Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the department said in a statement, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be informed of the development.
“We have monitored 43 people who have been in close contact with the patient and so far they have shown no symptoms, but we must continue monitoring for a total of 21 days.”
The department stated that anyone traveling to Thailand from 42 “risk countries” must register and undergo testing upon arrival. Mpox cases and deaths are surging in Africa, with outbreaks reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda since July.
The World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency due to the new mpox variant, urging manufacturers to increase vaccine production. The disease, caused by a virus transmitted from infected animals and passed between humans through close physical contact, results in fever, muscle aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
Although mpox has been known for decades, a new, deadlier, and more transmissible strain—Clade 1b—has driven the recent surge in cases. According to the WHO, Clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children being at higher risk. Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Thai Department of Disease Control, noted that mpox is much less likely to spread rapidly than COVID-19 due to the close contact required for transmission.
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