Thailand reports suspected case of new Mpox strain

Text size

Thailand on Wednesday reported its first suspected case of the new, more dangerous Mpox strain, which the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency.

The patient is a European who had entered Thailand from an African country, Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the kingdom's disease control agency, told AFP.

Laboratory tests are underway to confirm the strain, but authorities believe it is Clade 1. The infected person has been quarantined in the hospital.

“We did a test and they definitely have Mpox and it is definitely not clade 2,” Thongchai told AFP.

“We are convinced that the person has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait two more days for the final result in the laboratory.”

In Africa, cases and deaths from smallpox are increasing rapidly. Since July, outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

The disease is caused by a virus that is carried by infected animals but is transmitted from person to person through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscle aches and large, boil-like skin lesions.

While Mpox has been known for decades, a new, deadlier and more contagious strain – known as Clade 1b – is responsible for the recent surge in cases.

According to the WHO, clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children being at greater risk.

The virus, formerly called monkeypox, was discovered in Denmark in 1958 in monkeys kept for research purposes.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 16,000 cases and 500 deaths have been reported this year.

On August 15, Sweden reported the first confirmed Clade 1 case outside Africa.

tak-pdw/sn