Thailand announces 1st suspected case of new Mpox strain

Health authorities in Thailand announced on Wednesday the first suspected case of the new Mpox (Clade 1b). Head of Thailand's Department of Disease Control Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn said, "We have done a test and they definitely have Mpox and it's definitely not Clade 2." "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," he added. The suspected case was of European who came from Africa and arrived to Thailand on August 14, according to the Channel News of Asia, a Sigaporean multinational news channel. Thailand had witnessed 827 cases of the Mpox Clade 2 variant between January 2022 and August of 2024. The discovery of the Clade 1b strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo led the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a public health emergency of international concern on August 14. Source: Kuwait News Agency