Suspected patient only has seasonal flu: doctors
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Public Health Minister Dr Rajata Rajatanavin yesterday confirmed that Thailand was free from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers-CoV).
He said a man with Mers-like symptoms, admitted to Rayong Hospital in Rayong’s Muang district on Tuesday, only had seasonal flu according to lab test results.
The 26-year-old man was isolated because he had fever and it was suspected that he might have caught the virus after coming in contact with three friends who had just returned from South Korean, and one of them had reportedly died shortly after returning. Rajata said he would have officials locate these friends and check on their condition.
Rayong Hospital’s doctor Chotima Sornsiriwong yesterday echoed the declaration, insisting that the facility was operating as normal. She said the patient was recovering and would undergo a second test soon. Another friend of his, who is being monitored in hospital, has also shown no Mers symptoms. The duo will be kept under quarantine for up to five days.
A source at Government House, meanwhile, reported that Cabinet had on Tuesday approved a draft of a joint statement from the health ministers’ of ASEAN+3 (China, Japan and South Korea) on the threat of Mers-CoV in the region. The Public Health Ministry will host a video conference with Asean+3 on Monday in relation to the issue.
