A parcel delivery man is suspected of being infected with a new Covid-19 variant never before detected in Thailand, a senior health official said on Monday.
Department of Medical Sciences director-general Supakit Sirilak said the 34-year-old man may be infected with the XJ variant.
The XJ variant is another combination of the BA.1 and BA.2 variants. It was first detected in Finland.
Dr Supakit said a genome test on Feb 22 at a hospital in Bangkok found a coronavirus strain very close to the XJ recombinant.
"We still need more information for the confirmation," he said. "It is highly likely to be the XJ recombinant."
The man had previously been inoculated with two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, he said.
"He met many people due to the nature of his job. That made him vulnerable to infection," Dr Supakit said.
However, the man has already recovered and he showed no symptoms when he was infected.
Thailand has already reported the first case of infection with Omicron XE, detected by the Centre for Medical Genomics of Ramathibodi Hospital.
Dr Supakit said there was no evidence the two new recombinants were more dangerous than the existing variants already spread through the country.
The BA.2 Omicron variant is currently dominant in Thailand. It is more contagious than the BA.1 variant, he said.
Jakkarat Pittayawong-anont, director of the Department of Disease Control's epidemiology division, said more Covid-19 infections have been detected among young children, particularly those aged under five.