Thailand reported a suspected first case of the more dangerous Clade 1 strain of mpox on Wednesday. The patient, a European traveler, arrived in Thailand from an African country. Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, confirmed the news to AFP. While laboratory tests are underway to confirm the strain, officials are confident that it is Clade 1. The infected individual has been quarantined in a hospital.
This news comes as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global public health emergency due to the recent surge in mpox cases and deaths. The disease, caused by a virus transmitted by infected animals and humans, causes fever, muscular aches, and large boil-like skin lesions.
While mpox has been known for decades, a new, more deadly, and transmissible strain, known as Clade 1b, has driven the recent surge in cases. Clade 1b causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, with children being more at risk, according to the WHO.
The recent surge in mpox cases is particularly pronounced in Africa, where outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda since July. DR Congo has reported over 16,000 cases and 500 deaths this year. Sweden reported the first confirmed Clade 1 case outside Africa on August 15.
The suspected case in Thailand underscores the global nature of the mpox outbreak. Authorities are working to contain the spread of the virus and provide necessary care to infected individuals.
