First case of mpox clade 1b detected in Thailand
New outbreak of disease previously known as monkeypox has been declared a public emergency by World Health Organisation
The first case of mpox clade 1b has been detected in Thailand, the Disease Control Department (DCD) announced on Wednesday.
A patient had tested positive for the mpox clade 1b virus after arriving from Africa, said the DCD in a statement issued at 10.21am.
More details of the case would be announced by DCD director-general Thongchai Kiratihattayakorn on Wednesday afternoon, it added.
The World Health Organisation has declared mpox clade 1b outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
The PHEIC declaration is the second in two years relating to mpox. Caused by an Orthopoxvirus, mpox was first detected in humans in 1970, in the DRC. The disease is considered endemic to countries in Central and West Africa.
In July 2022, a multi-country outbreak of mpox was declared a PHEIC after it spread rapidly across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before. That PHEIC was declared over in May 2023 after a sustained decline in global cases.
Thailand has seen 827 mpox cases, all of the clade 2 type, between January 2022 and August 11 this year. No clade 1 type case has been detected in Thailand until now.
Previously known as monkeypox, mpox is transmitted mainly through sex or skin-to-skin contact. Patients usually develop flu-like symptoms and skin lesions. The disease can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.
