More than 120 people have contracted monkeypox (mpox) in Thailand -- which now has the highest number of such cases in Southeast Asia, a Chulalongkorn University virologist said on Wednesday.
Citing the World Health Orga- nisation, mpox is the new term for what was previously known as monkeypox. It is now being used instead in a bid to mitigate a rise in alleged racist and stigmatising language associated with the ailment.
Dr Yong Poovorawan, chief of the university's Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, said about 90,000 mpox cases were reported worldwide, with the highest number of confirmed cases being in the United States.
"More than 120 people were found to have contracted mpox in Thailand, which is the highest in Southeast Asia. The infection rate peaked in June," he said. Dr Yong said most people appear to have lowered their guard.
