Thailand has confirmed Asia’s first incidence of a new, more severe strain of mpox in a patient who recently visited an African country. The patient, a 66-year-old European, arrived in Bangkok on August 14 and was hospitalised after exhibiting symptoms compatible with mpox.
On Thursday, August 22, the Department of Disease Control revealed that laboratory tests verified the patient’s infection with the mpox Clade 1b strain, a variety that is more transmissible and deadly than prior strains.
“Thailand’s Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the department stated, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be informed of the development.
The department has identified and is monitoring 43 people who were in close touch with the patient. Although none of these contacts have developed symptoms yet, they will be monitored for a total of 21 days as a precaution.
In reaction to the proven occurrence, the Thai government has tightened health regulations. Travellers visiting from 42 “risk countries” must now register and undergo testing upon arrival in Thailand.
Mpox, a viral disease that is generally transmitted by infected animals but may also spread through intimate human-to-human contact, has experienced an increase in cases and fatalities throughout Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, since July. The World Health Organisation has designated the new Clade 1b type a global public health emergency, encouraging vaccine manufacturers to ramp up manufacturing to battle the outbreak.
Clade 1b has been linked to death in around 3.6% of cases, with children being more vulnerable, according to WHO data. Despite the strain’s severity, Thai health officials, notably Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Department of Disease Control, emphasised that mpox is less likely to spread swiftly than Covid-19 since transmission requires intimate personal contact.
The discovery of this case in Thailand is an important milestone in the continuing global mpox outbreak, raising concerns about the spread of the more deadly Clade 1b strain in Asia.
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