Leading virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan stressed today the urgent need for close surveillance in Thailand of the ‘Clade 1b’ variant of Mpox (monkeypox), which is now spreading across parts of central and east Africa.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak in parts of Africa to be a public health emergency of international concern.
The highly contagious disease killed at least 450 people during an initial outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo. It has now spread across parts of central and east Africa and scientists are concerned about how fast the new variant of the disease is spreading and its high mortality rate.
Mpox is transmitted through close contact, such as unprotected sex, skin-to-skin contact and talking or breathing close to another person. It causes flu-like symptoms, skin lesions and can be fatal, with four in 100 cases leading to death.
Dr. Yong, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, said in his Facebook post on Sunday that the ‘Clade 1b’ variant is of serious concern and needs to be closely watched to prevent its spread to Thailand.
He emphasised preventive measures, particularly among children, noting that the vaccine is very expensive and a study should be undertaken urgently into whether a reduction of the vaccine dosage is possible without compromising its efficacy.
Anan Jongkaewwattana, of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, said that the WHO declared a public health emergency because of its rapid spread, not because of its severity.
