Thailand has confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, deadlier strain of monkeypox (mpox) in a patient who had travelled to the country from Africa.

The Department of Disease Control said laboratory tests on the 66-year-old had confirmed he was infected with the mpox Clade 1b variant. The patient landed in Bangkok on 14 August and was sent to the hospital with mpox symptoms.

“We have monitored 43 people who have been in close contact with the patient and so far they have shown no symptoms, but we must continue monitoring for a total of 21 days,” said the department, adding “Anyone travelling to Thailand from 42 “risk countries” must register and undergo testing on arrival”.

“Thailand’s Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient,” the department said in a statement, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) would be informed of the development.

The World Health Organization has declared a global public health emergency over the new variant, urging manufacturers to ramp up production of vaccines.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry recently said it has strengthened its screening system across the country, including the Katunayake Airport, in view of the global surge in the monkeypox disease.

Issuing a statement, Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala said necessary protocols have been put in place to detect passengers who could bring in the disease to Sri Lanka.

Dr. Mahipala further said that in the event a monkeypox case is detected in Sri Lanka, the necessary treatment centre has been established at the Non-Communicable Diseases Unit in Colombo. 

Stating that the Medical Research Centre in Colombo is equipped with the necessary monkeypox detection laboratory tests, he said the necessary directives have been issued to the relevant authorities with regard to the disease. (Newswire/ The Guardian)

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The Ministry of Health says it has strengthened its screening system across the country, including the Katunayake Airport, in view of the global surge in the monkeypox disease.

Issuing a statement, Health Ministry Secretary Dr. Palitha Mahipala said necessary protocols have been put in place to detect passengers who could bring in the disease to Sri Lanka.

Dr. Mahipala further said that in the event a monkeypox case is detected in Sri Lanka, the necessary treatment centre has been established at the Non-Communicable Diseases Unit in Colombo. 

Stating that the Medical Research Centre in Colombo is equipped with the necessary monkeypox detection laboratory tests, he said the necessary directives have been issued to the relevant authorities with regard to the disease.

The measures are being taken after the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent decision to declare the infectious disease a public health emergency of international concern. (Newswire)

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Pakistan has confirmed its first monkeypox case of the year after a man who recently returned from Saudi Arabia tested positive for the virus, ARY News reported citing the Ministry of Health.

The 34-year-old male resident of Mardan arrived in Pakistan on August 3 and developed symptoms shortly after arriving in Peshawar and reached out to the hospital for testing.

The diagnosis was confirmed by Khyber Medical University in Peshawar, as per ARY News.

His positive diagnosis was confirmed on August 13, marking the first reported case of monkeypox in Pakistan for 2024.

Health officials have begun contact tracing efforts to identify and monitor individuals who were in close contact with the patient, including fellow passengers on his flight from Saudi Arabia.

Earlier in 2023, three passengers were diagnosed with monkeypox at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.

The Director General Health told the media that all three passengers were Pakistani citizens aged between 30 and 45. The passengers have been admitted to the infectious disease hospital.

Monkeypox remains a significant global health issue, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting 99,518 cases and 208 deaths across 122 countries.

According to ARY News, the virus, which spreads through close contact, presents with symptoms such as fever, rash, and body aches, typically lasting 2 to 4 weeks. Despite the spread, the WHO notes that 99 per cent of those infected survive.

In Pakistan, 11 cases have been reported since April 2023, with one resulting in death.

The National Institute of Health has issued an advisory outlining guidelines for managing and preventing the spread of monkeypox, urging continued vigilance and public health monitoring. (ANI)

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox (mpox) outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

According to a WHO statement, its Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s declaration came on the advice of an IHR Emergency Committee of independent experts who met earlier in the day to review data presented by experts from WHO and affected countries. 

The Committee informed the Director-General that it considers the upsurge of mpox to be a PHEIC, with the potential to spread further across countries in Africa and possibly outside the continent.

The Director-General will share the report of the Committee’s meeting and, based on the advice of the Committee, issue temporary recommendations to countries. 

In declaring the PHEIC, Dr Tedros said, “The emergence of a new clade of mpox, its rapid spread in eastern DRC, and the reporting of cases in several neighbouring countries are very worrying. On top of outbreaks of other mpox clades in DRC and other countries in Africa, it’s clear that a coordinated international response is needed to stop these outbreaks and save lives.”

This PHEIC determination is the second in two years relating to mpox. Caused by an Orthopoxvirus, mpox was first detected in humans in 1970, in the DRC. The disease is considered endemic to countries in Central and West Africa.

In July 2022, the multi-country outbreak of mpox was declared a PHEIC as it spread rapidly via sexual contact across a range of countries where the virus had not been seen before. That PHEIC was declared over in May 2023 after there had been a sustained decline in global cases.

Mpox has been reported in the DRC for more than a decade, and the number of cases reported each year has increased steadily over that period. Last year, reported cases increased significantly, and already the number of cases reported so far this year has exceeded last year’s total, with more than 15,600 cases and 537 deaths. 

The emergence last year and rapid spread of a new virus strain in DRC, clade 1b, which appears to be spreading mainly through sexual networks, and its detection in countries neighbouring the DRC is especially concerning, and one of the main reasons for the declaration of the PHEIC.

In the past month, over 100 laboratory-confirmed cases of clade 1b have been reported in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Experts believe the true number of cases to be higher as a large proportion of clinically compatible cases have not been tested.

Several outbreaks of different clades of mpox have occurred in different countries, with different modes of transmission and different levels of risk.

The two vaccines currently in use for mpox are recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, and are also approved by WHO-listed national regulatory authorities, as well as by individual countries including Nigeria and the DRC.

Last week, the Director-General triggered the process for Emergency Use Listing for mpox vaccines, which will accelerate vaccine access for lower-income countries which have not yet issued their own national regulatory approval. Emergency Use Listing also enables partners including Gavi and UNICEF to procure vaccines for distribution. 

WHO is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers on potential vaccine donations, and coordinating with partners through the interim Medical Countermeasures Network to facilitate equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics and other tools.

WHO anticipates an immediate funding requirement of an initial US$ 15 million to support surveillance, preparedness and response activities. A needs assessment is being undertaken across the three levels of the Organization.

To allow for an immediate scale-up, WHO has released US$ 1.45 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies and may need to release more in the coming days. The Organization appeals to donors to fund the full extent of the needs of the mpox response. (Newswire)

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Sri Lanka has detected two cases of Monkeypox, including a child, the Ministry of Health reported today.

The Director General of Health Services stated that a mother and daughter returning from overseas had tested positive for Monkeypox.

They had been detected on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake after having arrived from Dubai.

The Director General of Health Services stated that the infected individuals are currently being treated at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH).

Sri Lanka’s last monkeypox cases were detected in November 2022. The patients were Sri Lankans who had arrived from Dubai in November 2022.

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

With the eradication of smallpox in 1980 and the subsequent cessation of smallpox vaccination, monkeypox has emerged as the most important Orthopoxvirus for public health. (NewsWire)

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