Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the viral infection a global public health emergency. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Mpox Infection Updates: Thailand has become the latest country to report the deadly virus mpox (monkeypox) The case involves a European man who arrived from Africa last week. Authorities are awaiting test results to determine the strain, they said Wednesday.
Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the viral infection a global disease. public health emergencySince then, cases of mpox have been reported in several countries.
There are two main strains of mpox infection: clade 1b and clade 2 variants. The clade 1b variant of mpox infection is more deadly and is responsible for more than 500 deaths in the Central African country of Congo.
Philippines suspects local transmission
Philippine authorities said Wednesday that the reported case is of the mild Clade 2 variant. However, the 33-year-old patient has no recent travel history, indicating possible local transmission.
“It’s not as alarming as clade 1b,” Philippine Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa told AFP, noting that clade 2 is an older variant.
The Philippines reported its last case of mpox in December 2023. There was also an outbreak of mpox worldwide in 2022. However, the new variant is proving more worrying, with a mortality rate of 3.5 percent, according to data from Congo. Its spread is also a cause for great concern because so far little is known about it.
Which countries have reported fatal cases of mpox?
The new variant is also harder to detect because it attacks the genitals rather than the hands or chest as in previous cases, scientists have said. The previous strain spread mainly through sexual contact, affecting mostly gay and bisexual people. However, the new variant is also spreading rapidly through close contact and contaminated objects.
The more lethal mpox clade 1b strain has also been detected in Pakistan, Sweden, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Pakistan has reported four cases so far.
Given the situation, India is on high alert and strict surveillance measures have been put in place. The Health Ministry is closely monitoring the developments and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also actively monitoring the preparations, officials said. India’s airports and borders are also under strict surveillance to prevent the spread of the new wave of mpox in the country.
First published: August 21, 2024 | 14:36 IS
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