This file image shows doses of Imvanex, a vaccine to protect against the monkeypox virus. | Photo credit: AFP
On Wednesday (August 21, 2024) the first suspected case of a new and more dangerous strain of ampox was reported in Thailand, which has been World Health Organizationhas declared a global public health emergency.
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Thongchai Kiratihattayakorn, head of Thailand’s disease control department, told AFP that the patient was a European citizen who arrived in Thailand from an African country.
Laboratory tests are underway to confirm the strain, but officials believe it is from Clade 1. The infected person has been quarantined in a hospital.
“We have done the testing and they definitely have Ampox and it is definitely not Clade 2,” Mr Thongchai said.
“We are confident that the individual has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait two more days to see the final results in the laboratory.”
Ampox cases and deaths on the rise in AfricaSince July, outbreaks have been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
The disease is caused by a virus transmitted by infected animals, but spreads from human to human through close physical contact, causing fever, muscle pains, and large boil-like lesions on the skin.
While ampox has been known for decades, a new, deadlier and more contagious strain — known as clade 1b — has recently caused a surge in cases.
According to the World Health Organization, clade 1B causes death in about 3.6 percent of cases, and children are at higher risk.
Previously called monkeypox, the virus was discovered in 1958 in research monkeys in Denmark.
This year, there have been more than 16,000 cases and 500 deaths in DR Congo.
On 15 August, the first case of Clade 1 outside Africa was reported in Sweden.