Thailand has confirmed a second case of monkeypox with a local man now being treated for the viral disease in a Bangkok hospital, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul revealed the news on Thursday after the confirmation of a test from the Department of Medical Sciences (DMS).
Mr Anutin said the second case has nothing to do with a Nigerian man who was found to be the first case in the country.
A Department of Disease Control (DDC) report said the 47-year-old Thai man is being treated at Vajira Hospital.
The man told health authorities he had engaged in sex with foreign men and began to develop symptoms on July 12.
The man started to have a high fever, muscle pain and swollen lymph nodes and then had a rash on his genital area and other parts of his body a week later, Mr Anutin said.
Initially, an investigation showed that the man has always lived in the capital and did not have an inter-provincial travel record. He was likely infected via sexual relations, the investigation found.
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the DDC, said the man lived with 10 family members who are now considered an at-risk group that need to be isolated for 21 days.
They have also been required to undergo lab tests and health authorities are now waiting for the results.
Officials were trying to locate others who had been in close contact with the patient, Dr Opas said.
Dr Somsak Akksilp, director-general of the DMS, said when a lab test is confirmed some cases should stay in hospital for observation to prevent intercurrent illnesses.
However, home isolation is also an option as most patients can recover in two to four weeks, he said.
The department is assessing the situation to determine if vaccinations are necessary. The Unied States and countries in Europe are experimenting with drugs -- for oral use and injection -- to treat those infected, Dr Somsak said.
"With monkeypox sometimes a patient might develop severe symptoms, such as septicemia which could lead to death," he said.
Dr Naruemon Sawanpanyalert, a specialist of the DMS, said she is concerned about at-risk groups, notably those who are immunodeficient.
The department has worked with hospitals and skin clinics to seek treatment guidelines and the conclusion will be submitted to the Public Health Ministry's Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on Monday.
Despite monkeypox originating from the virus family that includes smallpox, the severity of the diseases is substantially different. The World Health Organization (WHO) said that smallpox claimed the lives of more than 60% of patients, while monkeypox has a 0.007% fatality rate.
"Actually, people cannot easily get infected with the disease unless they have really close contact with an infected person," Dr Naruemon said.
"The disease is naturally vulnerable and [the threat] can be neutralised by regularly washing hands and putting on face masks."
The WHO has issued recommendations that homosexual and bisexual men limit their number of sexual partners to protect themselves from monkeypox and help slow the transmission of the virus.
WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it is crucial for public health authorities to engage communities of homosexual men to reduce transmission of the virus and take care of those infected, while protecting their human rights by fighting stigma and discrimination.
