Thailand Confirms Asia’s First Case of New Mpox Virus Strain
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Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of Thailand's Department of Disease Control, speaks following the suspected first case of mpox in Bangkok.
Photographer: Lilian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images
Thailand became the first country in Asia to detect the new mutated strain of the mpox virus, as the pathogen spreads to more geographies after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak in Africa a new global health emergency.
The patient who tested positive for clade Ib was a European male who arrived in Bangkok last week from Africa, according to the Department of Disease Control of Thailand’s health ministry. Authorities have identified 43 close contacts of the 66-year-old patient and put them under surveillance. They will be monitored for any symptoms for 21 days and are required to go to a hospital if they there is fever, rashes or swollen lymph nodes, the ministry said.