Thailand has confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of mpox in a 66-year-old European man who had travelled from an unspecified country in Africa where the disease is spreading.
Reports show the patient landed in Bangkok on August 14 and was sent to hospital with mpox symptoms. The confirmation of the case was made on Thursday 22nd August 2024.
“Thailand’s Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the department said in a statement, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be informed of the development.
The variant: Clade 1b has triggered global concern because it spreads easily though routine close contact.
A case of this variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.
WHO declared the recent outbreak of the disease a public health emergency of international concern after the new variant was identified.
