Thai health experts have pointed out that the so-called ‘Thai variant’ of COVID-19, reported by Public Health England (PHE) this week, did not actually come from Thailand as the new strain has not been found among local transmissions in the country.
Dr. Wasan Chantratit, head of Mahidol University’s Centre for Medical Genomics, explained that Thailand had found the C36.3 strain in a 33-year-old man on his return from Egypt in January. The man recovered and the C36.3 variant had been eliminated from Thailand.
Meanwhile, Dr. Udom Kachintorn, adviser to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said the details remain unclear because PHE is still investigating the matter and carrying out lab tests on the new variant.
He said the UK authorities should have advised Thai officials, so they could conduct an investigation, before disseminating such information. The UK has not sent a sample of the variant to Thai authorities, adding that the strain must be verified by more than one laboratory.
According to Department of Medical Sciences Director-General Dr. Supakit Sirilak, a preliminary check has found that the new strain was brought into Thailand by a traveler from Egypt, who was quarantined after arrival. It appears that the origin was Egypt, so it could not be called the ‘Thai variant’. (NNT)
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