Monkeypox Becoming a Growing Concern in Thailand

The discovery of monkeypox in Thailand has raised concern for many people according to a survey by Suan Dusit University.

A survey was conducted online between August 5 and 11 among 1,095 people across the country.

When asked about their concerns regarding the discovery of cases in Thailand, 54,34% expressed a considerable amount of concern; 27.21% did not express particular concern; 14.16% expressed very high concern; and 4.29% expressed no concern at all.

According to the survey, 66.76% of respondents have some knowledge of monkeypox, while 5.30% have detailed knowledge. As a result, 24.29 % knew very little about it, while 3.65 % didn’t know anything about it.

The Ministry of Public Health was cited as the most reliable source of information about monkeypox by 37.17 percent, the Department of Medical Services by 16.44%, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram by 14.25%, and mainstream media such as radio and TV by 9.22%.

Among those surveyed about Covid-19 and monkeypox, 41.19 percent expressed equal concern about both; 29.32 percent expressed greater concern about monkeypox; 24.38 percent expressed greater concern about Covid-19; and 5.11% expressed no concern at all.

In response to the question whether they thought the government would be able to handle the cases, 46.58% said “yes”, 29.22% said “no” and 24.2% were unsure.

When asked what the government should do in response to monkeypox, respondents were allowed to select more than one response.

A total of 81.55% said the government must continue providing correct information to the people; 60.82 percent said people should know how to protect themselves from the disease; 59.36% said the government should make all information about the disease public without concealing anything.

While, 58.45% said strict measures should be taken to screen and quarantine high-risk people from abroad; and 56.16 percent wanted monkeypox vaccines available.

To date Thailand has confirmed only 4 monkeypox cases.

WHO plans to rename monkeypox

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it’s considering renaming the disease monkeypox after woke progressive liberal critics raised concerns the name has racist connotations.

In a statement Friday, the WHO said it had renamed two families of the virus using Roman numerals rather than geographical areas to avoid stigmatization. Congo Basin disease will now be called Clade one or I, and West Africa disease will be called Clade two or II.

In accordance with current best practices for naming diseases, WHO made the decision following a meeting of scientists this week, in order to minimize any negative impact on trade, travel, tourism, or animal welfare, and to avoid causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic group.”

The WHO must ensure the naming of diseases does not hurt people’s feelings, above all.

In 1958, researchers in Denmark first observed the presence of a “pox-like” disease in monkeys, although they are not considered the animal reservoir for monkeypox.

The WHO said it was also inviting the public to suggest new names for monkeypox, but did not say when any new name would be announced.

Globally, over 31,799 monkeypox cases have been identified since May. Nearly 98 percent of the world’s monkeypox cases were transmitted through male to male sexual encounters.

There are only a limited number of monkeypox vaccines available in the world, so authorities are racing to stop this disease from spreading.

In July, the World Health Organization declared monkeypox a global emergency, and earlier this month, the U.S. declared its own epidemic a national emergency.

 

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