Bangkok, August 21, 2024, The Europe Today: Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) announced on Wednesday that the country is investigating its first suspected case of a more dangerous strain of mpox. The patient, a European traveler who recently arrived from Africa, is currently under quarantine in a Bangkok hospital.
Health officials have not disclosed the patient’s country of origin or the specific locations visited in Africa. Preliminary laboratory tests have confirmed that the individual is infected with mpox, though it is not the less severe Clade 2 variant.
“We have done a test, and they definitely have mpox, and it’s definitely not Clade 2,” stated DDC chief Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn in a statement to French news agency AFP. “We are convinced the person has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait to see the final result in the lab for two more days.”
Clade 1 is considered a more dangerous variant of the virus, raising concerns about the potential public health impact. The DDC is closely monitoring the situation and will provide further updates as more information becomes available.
