Thailand identified its first suspected case of a more virulent strain of mpox in a European male who had previously visited Africa before entering the Southeast Asian country last week, health officials said on Wednesday.
According to the Department of Disease Control (DDC), the 66-year-old has been diagnosed with mpox and is being quarantined in a hospital while additional tests are conducted to determine whether the patient contracted the Clade 1b strain of the viral disease, as initial examinations revealed that it was not the less severe Clade 2 strain found earlier in the country.
The infected person landed in Thailand on August 14 on a connecting aircraft from the Middle East, according to DDC Director-General Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, who added that officials had assigned a team to trace and monitor 43 others who had intimate contact with him.
Authorities are boosting up preventative efforts in response to growing instances across Africa, with health screening at international entrance ports, including temperature checks and skin rashes, Thongchai said at a news conference.
He mentioned that Thailand detected its first case of mpox in 2022. Over 800 instances of Clade 2 mpox have been recorded thus far, with approximately 140 occurring this year.
The World Health Organization designated mpox a public health emergency of international concern this week, following an increase in the number of cases of a deadlier new form reported in and outside of Africa.
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