Fears after monekeypox outbreak in Africa

A team of provincial health officials clean a condominium in Phuket where the country’s first recorded case of monkeypox was found in July 2022. (Photo: Department of Disease Control)
The first case of monkeypox in Thailand was discovered in a property in July 2022 by a team of municipal health officials. ( Photo: Department of Disease Control )

The World Health Organization ( WHO ) is making a public health emergency of international concern ( PHEIC ) decision to consider a monkeypox outbreak.

A WHO report on the monkeypox outbreak in Africa had resulted in more patients that, according to Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, continuous director at the Ministry of Public Health, on Sunday.

He claimed this time, monkeypox cases have been reported in 15 different nations. More than 90 % of them are located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 70 % are children, with a 5 % mortality rate.

The states with the most new cases are Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, which are located to the east of DR Congo, he said. The government is concerned because there are more monkeypox cases than there were last year, he continued.

More children infected

According to him, it was more common among individuals before the revelation of the Clade Ib sub-strain, which is more simply spread by having sex with patients who have the disease.” In the past, it was common among adults,” he said.

According to Dr. Opas, the WHO recently convened a meeting to decide whether to allocate resources to nations with severe epidemics in order to address the new monkeypox outbreak.

According to AFP, the WHO may decide on Wednesday whether to raise its highest alert level in response to a monkeypox outbreak that is sweeping through many African nations.

In Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health has designated the Department of Disease Control to improve testing procedures at global institutions and roadblocks for communicable diseases, coordinating with Thais and foreigners traveling from developing nations to monitor and report indicators to communicable disease control soldiers.

The monkeypox position in Thailand from Jan 1, 2022, to May 28, 2024, resulted in 794 infection and 11 murders.