Laboratory results confirmed that the patient, 66 years old and whose possible contagion came to light on August 21, is infected with the new variant of monkeypox, after having tested negative for the variant clade 2less contagious.
Authorities of the Thai institution stressed in a statement that None of the patient’s 43 close contacts have so far shown symptoms. such as fever, rashes and swollen glands, so you will continue to monitor your progress for 21 days.
Confirmation of the case in Thailand means The first one recorded in Asia after the alert was activated internationally by the World Health Organization (WHO), after the results of other patients in Pakistan or the Philippines revealed other variants of monkeypox.
Read more: WHO Europe chief says failure to eradicate monkeypox was due to lack of commitment and resources
The head of the Thai center, Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, demands Strengthen contagion control measurespossible among others through close contact with patients, and assured that the results will be sent to the WHO, as dictated by the protocol, according to the statement.
He also ordered that entry points into Thailand, especially at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, Strengthen passenger controls coming from countries where cases have been recorded.
On August 14, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern due to the increase in monkeypox infections (clade 1 y clade 1b) in Africa, where the virus is circulating intensively.
A dozen African countries accumulate around 19,000 cases of monkeypox and more than 540 deaths in 2024with the current focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the African public health agency recently reported.
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In Europe, Sweden confirmed the first case of the clade 1b out of Africa on August 15.
The variants clade 1 and the most recent clade 1b are different from the so-called clade 2which caused in 2022 a violent outbreak in Africa and hundreds of cases in Europe, North America and countries in other regions.
Health experts have expressed concern about the current outbreak, as they have observed that the clade 1b It spreads more easily between people and tends to cause more severe symptoms.although the WHO has issued a message stating that the monkeypox outbreak “is not Covid.”
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