He is a 66-year-old European traveler who arrived in the country on August 14 from Africa – Confirmed to have been infected with the Clade 1b strain
Thailand has confirmed that the mpox strain it detected this week on its soil is the one responsible for the current outbreak in Africa.
Thailand’s disease control agency announced today that laboratory testing of the patient, a 66-year-old European traveler who arrived in Thailand on August 14 from Africa, confirmed that he was infected with the Clade 1b strain.
“The Thai disease control agency wishes to confirm the result of a laboratory test that revealed the presence of mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) will be informed of the development of the situation.
The infected person has been quarantined in a hospital.
“We are monitoring 43 people who had been in close contact with the patient and so far have not shown any symptoms, but we will continue monitoring for 21 days,” he adds.
Everyone crossing into Thailand from 42 “risk countries” must be registered and tested on arrival, he noted.
The re-emergence of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), but also in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of alert.
The clade 1 strain responsible for the current outbreak in Africa has a reported mortality of 3.6% and is particularly dangerous for children, according to the WHO.
mpox is transmitted from animals to humans, but also through close physical contact. The disease causes fever, muscle aches and skin lesions.
According to the director of Thailand’s disease control agency, Thongchai Kirathichatayakorn, mpox spreads much more slowly than COVID because of the close contact it takes to be transmitted.
The mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was discovered in 1958 in Denmark, in monkeys bred for research.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has recorded at least 16,000 cases, of which 548 have been fatal.
Sweden is the first country outside of Africa to report a case of the clade 1b strain, on August 15.
Source :Skai
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