Thailand confident of preventing mass MERS outbreak

An Airports of Thailand employee (L) monitors a screen as travellers walk past a thermoscan checking their body temperature upon their arrival at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on Jun 19, 2015. (Photo: AFP/Christophe Archambault)

BANGKOK: The Thai government has said it has the MERS situation under control and that they had been preparing for this eventuality since the South Korea outbreak began May.

This is despite a whirlwind of confusion regarding the confirmation of Thailand’s first MERS patient, a 75-year-old man from Oman. Media reports about the case were initially denied by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Thailand’s safety measures include a rapid response team that will be sent to the homes of suspected patients.

“We will monitor all of the 67 entry points into Thailand,” said Thai government spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak. “We will provide more strict regulations and rules and check more thoroughly the people who have come from the Middle East and South Korea. This is the first step that we can use to control the entry of vulnerable people into Thailand.”

The government spokesman also confirmed that three members of the Omani man’s immediate family were also under quarantine, and that one member was suffering from a low fever, but had so far tested negative for MERS.

A further suspected case in the northern province of Chiang Mai was also placed in isolation, but was later diagnosed with common cold after tests proved negative.

Bumrungrad Hospital is where Thailand’s first MERS patient was diagnosed. Once admitted, the patient was quarantined immediately and doctors insisted he remain in isolation to prevent any further spread of the disease.

The hospital remains confident that there is no chance of further infection from within the hospital, but as a precautionary measure it removed more than 50 members of staff who may have had contact with the patient from duty.

Medical representatives in Thailand are also confident that a full scale MERS outbreak is unlikely.

“We are confident because we have been well prepared and the infectious control measures have been at the max for several weeks right now,” said Dr Mondej from Bumrungrad Hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department. “These infection controls can stop the disease from spreading, and we’ve been doing so.”

Bumrungrad continues to work closely with the Public Health Ministry in monitoring all patients, 20 per cent of whom it says came from the Middle East.

The World Health Organization has expressed its confidence in Thailand’s preparedness to cope with MERS, and the Thai government is confident that the case was caught early enough to prevent the spread of infection.

Meanwhile, the search continues for a number of people who had contact with the Omani patient, including the taxi driver who drove him from the airport after he arrived in Thailand.