DDC detects three new cases of mpox infections

Three new cases of mpox have been detected in the kingdom. All three of the cases are male patients, and they are now being treated by the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, a medical institution specialised in treating infectious diseases, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said yesterday.

Tares: 'All were males aged 21-40'

Mpox is the new term used for what was known as monekypox, as advised by the World Health Organization in a bid to mitigate a rise in related racist and stigmatising language associated with the ailment.

The three new cases have brought the total number of mpox infections to 18 since the viral disease was declared to be an infectious one requiring special surveillance on May 25 of last year. The first infection was then detected on July 21 of the same year, said DDC director-general Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong.

"The three new patients are between 21 and 40 years of age, two of whom were found to have been attending an activity in which they were in close physical contact with others," said the doctor.

"An epidemiological investigation found there isn't any possibility that these three patients have spread the disease to any other parties," he said. "It's important to be aware that this disease can be transmitted through close physical contact, including cases when one has sex with a stranger."

On average, Thailand detects one to three new cases of mpox per month, with some months when no new cases are reported, said Dr Sopon Iamsirithaworn, deputy director of the DDC.

For those considering going to an activity in which close physical contact is difficult to avoid, they are advised against attending if they have blisters or spots around the body that appear similar to mpox, he said.

In related news, a high percentage of tuberculosis patients (46.2%) were, after a new study, found to have the highly transmissible and drug-resistant Lineage 2 strain, also known as Beijing sublineage, of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, said the Department of Medical Sciences.