The Department of Disease Control (DDC) stated on Monday that a Thai man with HIV became the first patient in Thailand to die after contracting the Mpox virus, formerly known as monkeypox.
Dr Tharet Krutnairawiwong, the department’s director-general, said the 34-year-old patient died on Friday at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.
Tharet stated that the patient, a native of Chonburi province, was first hospitalized on July 3 when he went to visit a doctor at a private hospital after experiencing fever, headache, rashes, and blisters on various regions of his body.
On July 11, the hospital determined that he was potentially afflicted with Mpox and submitted his samples to the infectious diseases institute for examination. The Mpox virus was found in the patient.
Doctors also discovered that the patient had HIV and syphilis, as well as a sore throat.
The rashes were gone after four weeks of treatment, and the patient was released.
However, on August 9, the patient complained of exhaustion and respiratory issues and was brought back to the institute.
The rashes caused by Mpox had spread all over his body, according to doctors at the institute. His illness had spread to his lungs and brain, and he only had a CD4 level of 16. A typical CD4 count is between 500 and 1,400 cells per cubic centimeter of blood.
Doctors treated him with antibiotics and antiviral medications to combat the Mpox virus, but he died on Friday night.
Tharet cautioned people in high-risk groups, particularly homosexuals, not to have sex with strangers since they could easily contract the monkeypox virus.
As of August 8, there were 189 Mpox cases in Thailand, including 161 Thais and 28 foreigners.
According to Tharet, the majority of the patients were homosexual men, and 82 of them also carried HIV.
He stated that 152 individuals have died from Mpox in various nations since its spread began in Europe.
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