THAILAND: On Thursday, Thailand’s Department of Disease Control confirmed that a European traveler tested positive for the Clade 1b strain of mpox, a variant that has sparked international alarm due to its rapid transmission through routine close contact. This marks the first Clade 1b case diagnosed in Thailand, although the man is believed to have contracted the virus in an endemic African country before travelling to Thailand.
Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, emphasized that no local transmissions have been identified through contact tracing efforts. Before arriving in Thailand, the patient had transited through an unspecified Middle Eastern country.
This case comes shortly after Sweden reported a Clade 1b infection last week, signalling the variant’s spread beyond Africa. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of this new mpox variant a public health emergency of international concern, further heightening global vigilance.
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While Thailand has recorded 800 cases of the less severe Clade 2 mpox strain since 2022, this is the country’s first instance of the more contagious Clade 1b variant.
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