Thailand has reported its first confirmed case of a new, potentially more dangerous strain of Mpox, marking the first occurrence in Asia and the second outside of Africa.
According to Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, the 66-year-old European man, who had arrived in Bangkok from an undisclosed African country on August 14, began showing symptoms the following day and sought medical attention.
He has been confirmed to have contracted Mpox, specifically the Clade 1b strain.
The Mpox outbreak, which originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, has already resulted in at least 450 deaths.
The disease has spread to several neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, which had previously been unaffected.
The newly identified Clade 1b strain, found in the eastern DRC, is spreading across borders into neighboring countries. Sweden recently reported its first case of Clade 1b outside Africa, involving a man who had also traveled to an unnamed African country.
Thailand’s case represents the first confirmed instance of the Clade 1b strain in Asia.
Mpox is transmitted through close contact, such as sexual activity, skin-to-skin contact, and close conversations or breathing near another person, but it is far less infectious than viruses like Covid-19 and measles.
The emergence of a new variant with a high fatality rate in parts of Africa has raised alarms among scientists and prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify it as a public health emergency of international concern.
Outbreaks can be managed by raising awareness, tracking close contacts, and using vaccines to prevent infections. However, vaccines are typically available only to those at risk or those who have been in close contact with an infected individual.
Vaccines are currently scarce in Africa, but plans are underway to deliver millions of doses to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the coming weeks.
In Thailand, the Department of Disease Control has identified and is monitoring 43 individuals who were seated near the infected man or had contact with him after his arrival. These individuals will be observed for 21 days.
Thailand is also requiring people travelling from 42 “risk countries” to test on arrival.
Mpox causes flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. While it is generally a mild illness for most individuals, it can be fatal.
The new strain spreading in central Africa is believed to be more deadly than previous variants, with a mortality rate of around four percent. Mpox is predominantly found in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa, where thousands of infections occur annually.
Another variant, Clade 2, which is significantly milder, led to a global public health emergency in 2022. This strain is still present in several countries worldwide.