The Kingdom of Thailand announced today, Wednesday, the registration of the first possible case of the new, more dangerous strain of monkeypox (Mpox), which the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency.
The patient arrived in Bangkok on Aug. 14 and was hospitalized after developing symptoms of EMBOX the next morning, according to Thongchai Kiratithaithaikorn, head of the Southeast Asian kingdom’s Center for Disease Control.
Laboratory tests are being conducted to determine the strain, but officials suspect it is from the first clade (Clade 1). The patient, a 66-year-old European man who came to Thailand from an African country, has been isolated.
First case recorded
“We did tests and it’s definitely the person who has AMPOX, and it’s definitely not from Clade 2,” Tongchai told AFP.
“We are convinced that the person has the first biotype, but we have to wait two more days to know the final result in the lab,” he added.
Health officials are monitoring 42 people who had close contact with the patient, Tongchai said at a news conference.
The number of infections in Africa is increasing
Monkeypox cases are on the rise in Africa, with cases reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda since July.
Monkeypox is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans from infected animals, but can also be transmitted between humans through close physical contact. It causes fever, muscle pain and a rash, and although monkeypox has been known for decades, a new, more deadly and more contagious strain, “Cluster 1B”, has caused the recent increase in cases.
Clyde 1B causes death in about 3.6% of cases, and children are most at risk of infection, according to the World Health Organization. The virus was discovered in 1958 in Denmark in infected monkeys used for research purposes.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has recorded more than 16,000 cases and 500 deaths this year, and on August 15, Sweden reported the first confirmed case of the Clyde 1 strain outside Africa.
The Philippines announced on Wednesday that the first recorded case of monkeypox on its territory this year was not of the “Clyde 1B” strain.