Health authority affirms only one MERS patient in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 20 (TNA) - The Ministry of Public Health confirms that there has been only one case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Thailand, a 75-year-old Omani male patient who has been recovering at the state-run Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Surachet Satitniramai made the confirmation on Saturday (Jun 20), saying that the patient's relatives, including his son, have remained quarantined and observed for the virus' symptoms. Dr. Surachet told journalists that two of the three quarantined have been tested negative for the deadly virus, while the other must await for the second result on June 21, based on the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) standards in virus testing. Dr. Surachet stressed that the patients' relatives need to undergo a two-week long observation period to assure that they did not contract the deadly virus. According to the senior health official, there are a total of 175 people who had contacted with the MERS patient and most of them have been detected, including a plane passenger from Buriram Province in the Thai Northeast, and a taxi driver who drove the patient around. Meanwhile, all thermoscans atThailand's main Suvarnbhumi International Airport have been upgraded to detect changing human temperatures quicker. (TNA)