Second MERS case found in Thailand
The second confirmed case of patient with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS has been detected in Thailand, Public Health Minister Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn announced Sunday.
Piyasakol said the second MERS patient is a 71-year-old Oman man who entered Thailand on Friday.
The minister said the patient is now being quarantined at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute of the Diseases Control Department.
The Oman man is now in stable condition and is put on respiratory machine.
The Disease Control Department is now urgently searching for 37 other people who had direct contact with the patient.
The 37 persons include 13 Thais, who are medical staffs, hotel staffs and a taxi driver. They will have to be monitored for possible infection for at least 14 days.
Piyasakol said the Oman’s children are now being quarantined at diseases institute.
The first confirmed MERS case in Thailand was detected last year. The patient is also an Oman man. He was later treated and declared free from the virus and was allowed to leave the kingdom. The disease did not spread to others.
