Bangkok: Thailand has confirmed an mpox case involving a 66-year-old European man who arrived from Africa last week. The case is being investigated to determine the specific strain, according to a disease control official.
Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, informed Reuters on Wednesday that the case is being treated as potentially involving the Clade 1 variant of mpox. The patient, a European resident in Thailand, arrived on August 14 from an unspecified African country where mpox was known to be spreading.
“After he arrives from the flight there is very little time frame where he come into contact with others,” Thongchai stated. “He arrives around 6 pm and on the next day, Aug 15, he went to see the doctor at the hospital.”
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The man has undergone testing to confirm whether the mpox case is of the Clade 1 variant, with results expected by Friday. In the meantime, Thai authorities are monitoring 43 individuals who may have come into contact with the patient.
The specific African country and the Middle Eastern transit country where the man had been are not disclosed. Thailand has previously recorded 800 cases of mpox Clade 2 since 2022 but has not identified any cases of the Clade 1 or Clade 1b variants to date.
