HomeInternational NewsThailand confirms European man's Mpox case from African travel, WHO monitors.

Thailand confirms European man’s Mpox case from African travel, WHO monitors.

Thailand has reported a case of mpox in a 66-year-old European man who arrived from Africa last week. Health authorities are currently awaiting test results to determine the type of virus strain involved.

Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Department of Disease Control, announced on Wednesday that the patient arrived in Thailand on August 14 from an unnamed African country. Authorities are currently treating the case as if it involves the Clade 1 variant of mpox, a strain that has raised global concerns due to its perceived higher transmission rate.

The infected man has been hospitalized and isolated while further tests are conducted to confirm the strain type. According to Thongchai, the man had a layover in a Middle Eastern country, which has also not been named, before heading to Thailand. Since 2022, Thailand has recorded 800 cases of mpox Clade 2 but has not identified any cases of Clade 1 or Clade 1b variants thus far.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a global health emergency but emphasizes that the outbreak cannot be compared to COVID-19, as much is already known about the virus and how to control its spread. Mpox is a viral infection that can cause fever, muscle aches, and large, painful skin lesions. Clade 1b, a relatively new and more deadly variant, has driven the recent increase in cases, with outbreaks reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda since July. The DRC alone has reported over 16,000 cases and 500 deaths this year.

On Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations agency, appealed for $18.5 million in support to provide healthcare to those affected in Africa. “We must act quickly to protect those at greatest risk and to mitigate the impact of this outbreak in the region,” said IOM Director-General Amy Pope.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Argentina have quarantined a cargo ship on the Paraná River over a suspected mpox case on board. The health ministry identified the crew member only as an Indian national who reportedly showed cyst-like skin lesions primarily on the chest and face and has been isolated.

Health authorities in the Philippines announced on Wednesday that a recently recorded mpox case belongs to the milder Clade 2 variant. According to WHO, Clade 1b has a fatality rate of about 3.6% among reported cases, with children being particularly at high risk. Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, was first discovered in 1958 in Denmark in monkeys kept for research.

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