Travelers to Southeast Asia for the Water Festival in April are advised to take mpox vaccines ahead of their trip after three confirmed cases of mpox-triggered respiratory infections were reported in Thailand, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.
Aside from Thailand, the Water Festival is also celebrated in Laos, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and among the Dai people in China.
Thailand last month reported to the WHO three confirmed cases of the clade 1b strain of mpox, the CDC said. The three cases were females aged 30 to 40 who showed symptoms of the disease on their flight back to Thailand from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it said.
Photo: AFP
Thai health officials confirmed that the tourists had come in close contact with people infected with the clade 1b strain while traveling in the UAE and began tracing contacts with the tourists after they returned to Thailand, the CDC said.
As the mpox cases continue to emerge while Thailand is set to celebrate the Water Festival from April 13 to April 15, the CDC advised tourists who are headed to the Southeast Asian nation to take mpox vaccines, which would protect them from the clade I and clade II strains.
A complete vaccination against mpox requires two doses with a four-week interval, and protection from the vaccines does not begin until two weeks after inoculation, the CDC said.
As such, travelers are advised to receive mpox vaccines six weeks before traveling, it said.
Taiwan has since June 23, 2022, listed mpox as Category 2 notifiable epidemic disease.
As of Monday, the nation has recorded 454 mpox cases: 426 locally transmitted cases and 28 imported cases, CDC data showed.
Separately, travelers to South Korea must place portable chargers and battery packs for electronic devices in separate, resealable plastic bags and put them in carry-on luggage, which cannot be placed in overhead bins on flights, the Korea Tourism Organization said on Tuesday.
Each resealable bag must contain only one charger or one battery pack, the organization said, adding that all chargers must be covered with insulating tape or protective covers.
Travelers can carry no more than five power banks of up to 100 watt-hour (Wh) or two between 100Wh and 160Wh, it said. The latter must also have airline labels before passengers carry them on board, it said.
The use of portable chargers is prohibited when the flight is taking off or landing, and devices must be turned off, it added.
The new flight safety policy was announced after a fire on an Air Busan flight on Jan. 28.
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