MFA:Thailand's disease control measures meet int'l standard

BANGKOK, January 25 (TNA) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assigned Thai embassies and consulates-general overseas to inform the international community that Thai health authorities can effectively control the fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), after discovering the second MERS-CoV patient in the country since mid-2015, and that the Thai Kingdom's disease control measures meet the international standard. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Sek Wannamethee told journalists on Monday that in response to the Thai Ministry of Public Health’s confirmed report on the MERS-CoV patient on January 22, his ministry has assigned Thai embassies and consulates-general overseas to inform the countries or regions where they are stationed of the Thai government's effective treatment of the second foreign MERS-CoV patient, monitoring all persons in contact with him and implementation of disease control measures in accordance with the international standard. The spokesman said Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has also ordered the Ministry of Public Health to handle the situation at its best and advised the general public to follow up the updated situation calmly, have confidence in Thai health systems and take good care of their health. Meanwhile, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised people with chronic diseases not to visit any country where MERS-CoV is spreading and those returning from areas hit or being at risk of the deadly disease to see doctors immediately if they have a high fever, cough and have a runny nose or sore throat within 14 days after their arrivals in Thailand. The visiting 71-year-old Omani man has been confirmed to have been infected with MERS-CoV, the second one in Thailand since mid-2015, but he remains conscious and has been quarantined and treated at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on the outskirts of Bangkok. (TNA)