The backs of the hands of a patient with mpox, showing a characteristic rash during his recovery phase, pictured in Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: CDC / IMAGE POINT FR / IMAGE POINT FR / BSIP via AFP
The deadly virus M-pox has reached Asia. Last week, the World Health Organisation declared the increasing spread of M-pox in Africa a global health emergency.
It's now been detected in two cases outside Africa - one in Sweden, and now one in Thailand, in a 66 year old European man who arrived in Bangkok from an unnamed African country last week. He has the M-Pox strain known as Clade One-b.
At least 450 people have died from M-pox in an outbreak centred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 96 percent of cases have been reported. The disease, which can be spread through close contact with an infected person, is hitting children particularly hard in the Congo.
Kathryn speaks with Greg Ramm, country director with Save the Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
For more details on the outbreak, or information on how you can help, please click here or here, for RNZ's explainer.
