In a worrying development, Thailand has confirmed a new clade Ib mpox case, the second confirmed case of the variant wreaking havoc in Africa. The case is a 66-year-old European man who had arrived in Thailand last week from an unspecified African country where the disease was spreading.
"The test results confirm that he is infected with Clade 1b type of monkeypox, which is the first case diagnosed in Thailand, but this man is likely infected from an endemic country,” Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, director general of the Department of Disease Control. , told Reuters.
'Clade 1b' has caused global concern because of the ease with which it spreads through routine close contact. A case of the variant was confirmed last week in Sweden and linked to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new Mpox outbreak a global health emergency.
What is Mpox?
Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is a viral disease that causes fever, headache and muscle aches. It is spread from person to person through close skin-to-skin contact. A severe strain of the mpox virus, which previously caused panic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is now spreading rapidly across Kenya and several other African countries, causing serious concern among health authorities.
Mpox is caused by the mpox virus, which is part of the Orthopoxvirus genus, the same family as the smallpox virus. The virus is zoonotic, meaning it is transmitted from animals to humans. In Africa, it is spread mainly through contact with infected animals such as rodents and primates. Human-to-human transmission can also occur through close contact with infected individuals or contaminated materials.
There have been about 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mostly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023. The virus has also spread to other countries such as Pakistan and Sweden, intensifying fears that the world could see a repeat of the COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020 and halted global business.
Is it like COVID-19?
Despite lingering fears, a WHO official stressed on Tuesday that mpox, whether new or old, is not the new COVID, as authorities know how to control its spread. "We can and must tackle mpox together," said Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, at a UN press conference.