Health
Asia confirms first case of deadlier Mpox variant
Topline
Thailand confirmed on Thursday that an MPox case reported earlier this week was the new clade Ib strain, marking only the second time the deadlier variant has been identified outside Africa, as governments around the world step up surveillance and containment efforts to combat it intensify the fight against the virus.
Thailand confirmed a case of mpox clade Ib, the first in Asia.
Key facts
Thailand’s Ministry of Disease Control said tests had confirmed the country’s first case of the new, more dangerous strain of mpox linked to a growing outbreak in Africa.
The case concerns a 66-year-old European man who… arrived in Bangkok from an unspecified African country last week, the department said.
It is the first known case in Asia of the clade Ib mpox variant and only the second known case outside Africa after Sweden confirmed infection with the dangerous new variant last week.
The man was hospitalized shortly after arriving with MPox symptoms and his symptoms are not serious, officials say saidadding that he has been in quarantine since then.
Director General of Thailand’s Ministry of Disease Control, Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn told According to Reuters, the man was “probably infected from an endemic country.”
No other local infections have been identified through contact tracing, Keeratihattayakorn said.
News Peg
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has declared a public health emergency of international concern due to an escalating mpox outbreak in central Africa. The statement, which followed a similar warning from Africa’s top public health body, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is the WHO’s highest alert level under international law. It’s the second time the designation has been used for MPOX, formerly known as monkeypox, in as many years after the WHO sounded the alarm for a global outbreak in 2022, spreading mainly among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men . and it was the first time the virus caused a significant outbreak outside Africa. Mpox often causes a mild illness with symptoms such as rash, fever and muscle aches, although the virus can be fatal and is especially dangerous for young children, people with compromised immune systems and pregnant people. It is spread by contact with an infected person, animal, or contaminated material such as sheets. The current outbreak is caused by an offshoot of a variant of the mpox virus (clade I) that has historically been restricted to Central Africa, especially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is believed to be much more deadly than clade II variant responsible for the 2022 global outbreak and appears to have evolved to be more easily transmitted through contact. African CDC officials say there have been more than 17,000 suspected cases and more than 500 deaths so far this year.
What are countries doing to combat Mpox?
Many countries have stepped up surveillance efforts to try to intercept any MPOX cases entering the country. The Philippines, Pakistan and Singapore have all discovered or reported clade II infections in the past week. Singapore said it will start screening the temperatures of travelers arriving from places where there is a risk of outbreaks from Friday, and last week China said this will happen checking goods and passengers arrivals for the virus for the next six months. Health authorities such as the WHO have emphasized that no travel or trade bans are needed to combat the outbreak. Other countries, especially in affected parts of Africa, are securing vaccine supplies from the likes of Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic, which has said it can deliver 2 million doses this year and another 8 million by the end of next year.
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