Mpox hits Thailand: Asian country confirms first case of new virus strain

Thailand became the first country in Asia to detect the new mutated strain of the mpox virus, as the pathogen spreads to more geographies after the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak in Africa a new global health emergency.

The patient who tested positive for clade Ib was a European male who arrived in Bangkok last week from Africa, according to the Department of Disease Control of Thailand’s health ministry. Authorities have identified 43 close contacts of the 66-year-old patient and put them under surveillance.

The patient with illnesses and symptoms associated with mpox was admitted to a hospital on August 15, a day after his arrival in Bangkok. Laboratory tests on Thursday confirmed the variant as clade Ib and Thailand will report the result to the World Health Organisation, the ministry said in a statement.

Tourism-reliant Thailand said it will tighten surveillance and screening measures at all its international entry points including Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport. Travellers from 42 countries with mpox outbreaks will have to register themselves on the health ministry’s online application before leaving for Thailand and undergo health screening upon arrival according to global protocols, the ministry said.

The newer strain - with a fatality rate of 3 per cent - has been spreading across several African countries and is reported to have killed more than 500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children and adolescents are also getting sick, with known fatal cases exceeding 60 per cent among patients under the age of 5.

Unlike an earlier milder strain that erupted in 2022 and spread primarily through men who have sex with men, the current variant that produces fluid-containing lesions is spreading through all kinds of sexual activity and other close physical contact.

Asian countries from China to India and Pakistan - many of which are densely populated - have beefed up surveillance lately. Travellers from affected countries were being asked to self-report symptoms and hospitals were on alert for suspected cases.

Thailand said it will quarantine any traveller found with mpox symptoms, and visitors from countries with outbreaks will have their temperatures measured, checked for rashes and travel history questioned. The government is also preparing a 60-room quarantine facility to isolate patients in the event of a widespread outbreak, the health ministry said.

The Southeast Asian nation, which has reported about 800 cases of mpox clade II variant since 2022, is keen to contain the virus as it heads into the busy tourist season when millions of holidaymakers are expected to visit the country.

Tourism is one of Thailand’s key industries accounting for about 20% of total jobs and making up roughly 12 per cent of the nation’s $US500 billion ($750b) economy. Foreign arrivals this year through August 18 have jumped about 33 per cent to more than 22.5 million from the same period in 2023.

c2024 Bloomberg L.P.