Mpox virus outbreak: Deadly new variant confirmed in Thailand as Asia ramps up border controls to face threat

Thailand has confirmed Asia’s first known case of a new, more dangerous strain of mpox in a European traveller.

The patient, a 66-year-old man who arrived from an unnamed African country on 14 August, has tested positive for the Clade 1b variant, which is deadlier and more transmissible.

“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.

The man had minimal contact with other people after he arrived in Thailand and sought medical attention the following day after he experienced symptoms similar to mpox, authorities said.

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The outbreak comes as a new strain is identified, named clade 1, said to be spreading mainly through sexual networks.

WHO says it has been identified in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda – all countries that have never reported cases of mpox before.

Although mpox was not generally a sexually transmitted infection in 2022-23, it was suggested by public health officials that the outbreaks were linked to sexual activity – with the majority, but not all, cases amongst men who have sex with men.

People on the Isla of Man have been urged to remain vigilant about symptoms of mpox as the dangerous strain spreads.

The island’s public health officials said it was “planning and preparing” to deal with any cases but the risk to residents were still “low”.

A case of the deadly virus Clade Ib was detected in Sweden last week.

The World Health Organisation declated the outbreaks originating from Democratic Republic of the Congo a public health emergency of international concern.

Mpox was first detected in humans in the DRC in 1970 and is considered endemic to countries in Central and West Africa.

However, WHO said the recent surge of cases in DRC and its spread to neighbouring countries constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the International Health Regulations (2005) on Wednesday.

According to WHO, mpox has been reported in DRC for more than 10 years, with the number of cases increasing steadily over the period.

So far in 2024, there have been more than 15,600 cases of mpox and 537 deaths, which the WHO said exceeds last year’s total.

There have also been 100 lab-confirmed cases of clade 1b in four countries neighbouring the DRC that have not reported mpox before: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic could ramp up production of its mpox vaccine even before having orders lined up, based on the outcome of talks this week with the World Health Organisation, the company’s CEO told Reuters.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Chaplin said in an interview that the company urgently needs to make the call on whether to manufacture “at risk” – or without signed contracts – because diverting or switching manufacturing capacity from its other vaccines to mpox will take time.

In order to make that decision, Bavarian Nordic “would need to be reasonably convinced that those orders would be coming through”, Chaplin said.

“We’ll have to wait and see how the discussions develop this week and we’ll make a decision later this week what we’re doing.”

He said the discussions were with the WHO, the global vaccine group Gavi, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and with individual governments in Africa and elsewhere.

It comes as the company said on Saturday it has informed the Africa CDC that it could manufacture 10 million doses of the vaccine by the end of 2025, and could supply up to 2 million doses this year.

But the 2 million doses by year-end would not be possible unless Bavarian Nordic “changes gears” to start producing more of its mpox vaccine now, instead of its other vaccines, Chaplin said: “Every week we don’t switch over, we lose some of that capacity.”

People travelling to areas affected by the recent mpox outbreak in Africa have been urged to get vaccinated by the EU’s public health body.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) updated its advice to people going to “epidemic areas” to “consult their healthcare provider or travel health clinic regarding eligibility for vaccination against mpox”.

The ECDC said it is “highly likely” that Europe will have “more imported cases of mpox caused by the clade 1 virus currently circulating in Africa”.

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European health authorities have ruled out imposing border controls as the risk of a global mpox outbreak is still considered “low”.

The Health Security Committee (HSC) confirmed that there should not be “a public health emergency in Europe as things stand”.

A spokesperson added: “The HSC members agreed on the importance of a closely coordinated approach and the need to continue monitoring the situation very closely.”

Vaccination recommendations are kept for certain groups at more risk but the commission has ruled out extending the rollout for the general public for now.

It comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared outbreaks in Africa a global emergency.