Omani man with MERS-CoV found in Thailand remains conscious

NONTHABURI, THAILAND, January 25 (TNA) - A 71-year-old Omani man who was found having been infected with the fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the second one in Thailand since mid-2015, remains conscious and has been quarantined and treated at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on the outskirts of Bangkok. Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai told Thai News Agency (TNA) on phone on January 24 that the Omani man had fallen sick in his motherland and his conditions had not improved despite treatment there; so, he arrived in Thailand on January 22 and went to see a doctor at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok after checking in at his hotel. Dr. Suwannachai said the Omani patient was discovered 10 hours later that he was contracted MERS-CoV and was, thus, sent to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi Province, next to Bangkok, for further treatment. Dr. Suwannachai affirmed that the Omani patient is conscious, can eat but puffs and he is treated in an isolated room, while 23 air passengers within the two-meter radius of the patient in their flight have been kept under close surveillance and all of them are foreigners. According to the senior Thai official, the taxi driver who served the Omani patient from the Suvarnabhumi International Airport to his hotel and staffers of the hotel and the hospital have also been under surveillance. Besides, one relative of the Omani patient and 11 employees of Bumrungrad Hospital were admitted to the hospital, while 19 other people with a low risk of infection with MERS-CoV were asked to stay within their residences. The senior official stated although the MERS-CoV infection of the Omani patient had not been informed from the country of origin, Thai officials could discover his illness soon, thanks to Thailand's experiences in effective surveillance measures. The senior Thai health official reported that the old Omani patient also has chronic illness and will be treated until he no longer has high fever. (TNA)