MERS 71M In Thailand ex-Oman

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MERS case, 71M, ex-Oman has been confirmed in Thailand.

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Thailand Confirms Second Case of MERS

Omani national, 71, arrived in Bangkok on Friday to seek treatment for fever, cough

 

ENLARGE

A medical worker puts on a face shield during a drill at a private hospital in Bangkok in June, 2015, shortly after Thailand’s first case of Middle East respiratory syndrome was diagnosed. PHOTO: ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA/REUTERS

By 

WILAWAN WATCHARASAKWET

Jan. 24, 2016 12:36 a.m. ET

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BANGKOK—Health officials in Thailand on Sunday confirmed the country’s second case Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS.

The patient, a 71-year-old Omani national, arrived in Bangkok on Friday to seek treatment for a persistent fever and cough. He had previously sought treatment in his home country but opted to travel to Thailand, a popular destination for patients from the Middle East, when his condition didn’t improve, health ministry officials said.

He was tested and found positive for the virus, and is currently at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on the outskirts of Bangkok, where a second round of tests confirmed that he has MERS

Ministry officials said they have quarantined, and are monitoring, 37 people who had close contact with the man, including family members who traveled with him, as well as a taxi driver, passengers who sat near him, flight attendants and hospital personnel.

Sophon Mekthon, permanent secretary Thailand’s health ministry said an earlier MERS case in June last year, involving a businessman from Oman, had led to improved detection and monitoring procedures, which assisted in the swift identification and treatment of the virus.

MERS belongs to the same family of viruses as the common cold and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and kills more than one-third of the people it infects, largely through respiratory infections. Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. No vaccine exists.

Last year, South Korea struggled with an outbreak that killed 36 people.

Write to Wilawan Watcharasakwet at[email protected]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/thailand-confirms-second-case-of-mers-1453613813

[niman]

Health | Sun Jan 24, 2016 12:04am EST

Related: WORLD, HEALTH

Thailand reports second MERS case as virus detected in Omani man

BANGKOK

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A woman wearing a mask walks past an information banner on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) at the entrance of Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, June 19, 2015.

REUTERS/CHAIWAT SUBPRASOM

 

Thailand has confirmed its second case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus on Sunday, the country's health minister said.

The virus was detected in a 71-year-old Omani man traveling to Bangkok on Friday, Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn told a news conference.

"After taking a taxi to a hotel, he was checked for the virus at a hospital and the MERS virus was found," he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"This case was found quickly, so the public should not panic," he added.

The health minister said 37 others were being monitored for the virus, including the man's son who traveled with him.

Thailand's first MERS case was detected last year in a businessman from Oman who survived the disease.

MERS is caused by a coronavirus from the same family as the one that triggered China's deadly 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

MERS was first identified in humans in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and the majority of cases have been in the Middle East.

 

(Reporting Manunphattr Dhanananphorn; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-mers-idUSKCN0V202D

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Second MERS case found in Thailand

• 24 Jan 2016 at 11:47 5,246 viewed1 comments
• WRITER: ONLINE REPORTERS

A 71-year-old man from Oman was tested positive for MERS by Thai hospitals. (Photo by Kitja Apichonrojarek)

The Public Health Ministry on Sunday announced the country's second confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The patient is a 71-year-old man from Oman who travelled to Thailand on Jan 22 after having been treated at a hospital in that country for about one week for fever and a cough, according to Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn.

The man tested positive for MERS at Bamrungrad and Chulalongkorn hospitals.

The man was referred to Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on Saturday at 6.20pm and another laboratory test by the Medical Science Department confirmed he had contracted MERS.

Dr Piyasakol said the Omani man is now being quarantined at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute of the Diseases Control Department.

The Public Health Ministry is looking for people who had contact with the patient. They included a relative who accompanied the patient, 218 crew and passengers who are still in Thailand, one taxi driver, a hotel employee, and 30 hospital staff.

These people will be kept under close surveillance for 14 days. Of them, 37 are categorised as high-risk. They are the patient's relative, 23 air passengers, the taxi driver, the hotel employee, and 11 hospital staff.

Those with a high risk will also be quarantied.

Thailand confirmed its first case of MERS on June 18, last year. The patient was a 75-year-old male who travelled from Oman to Thailand. He was  treated and declared free from the virus and was allowed to leave the kingdom. The disease did not spread to others.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/837040/second-mers-case-found-in-thailand