Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Thai health officials have confirmed a case of the version of mpox that prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency.
The infected person is a 66-year-old European man who worked in an African country with an ongoing outbreak. Officials did not specify which country. The man, who has a home in Thailand, was not reported to have severe symptoms, according to the New York Times report.
It’s the second time that the new and deadlier version of the virus has been found outside Africa. Coupled with the earlier case, discovered in Sweden last week, the announcement in Thailand is likely to stir concerns that the virus is spreading more widely. The outbreak previously had been concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The new version of the virus has a death rate of 3 percent, much higher than the 0.2 percent death rate observed in a 2022 outbreak, the global newspaper added.
On the other hand, Bangladesh has already implemented precautionary measures to prevent the entry of Mpox, an infectious disease primarily affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries.
The Ministry of Health has already issued a high alert for Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, following reports of the virus in various countries.
The alert came just a day after Pakistan’s health ministry identified its first case of Mpox.
Daud Adnan, the Deputy Director of the Department of Hospitals and Clinics at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), reassured the public that no cases have been detected in Bangladesh.
BBN/SSR/AD