Thailand reported its first case of the highly transmissible Clade 1b Mpox strain, linked to an infected European man traveling from Africa, amid global outbreak concerns and WHO’s emergency declaration.
Thailand has reported its first case of the highly transmissible Clade 1b strain of Mpox this week, raising global health concerns. This case, involving a 66-year-old European man who arrived from an unspecified African country, follows Sweden’s recent report of a similar infection, marking the spread of the virus outside its traditional epicenters.
The World Health Organization declared a Mpox surge a public health emergency earlier this month as cases surged in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Clade 1b, a newer variant of the virus that has already caused numerous fatalities, has now crossed into other regions, with recent cases noted in Pakistan and the Philippines.
Unlike the Clade 1a strain, which typically involves animal-to-human transmission, experts believe Clade 1b is primarily circulating within human populations. Researchers are investigating whether there are significant differences in disease severity between the two clades.
