People urged not to be panic over MERS outbreaks

BANGKOK, June 5 (TNA) - Thai health experts have advised people not to be panic over the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS Co-V), as its spreading rate has been five times lower than that of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The advice was aired at a joint press conference in Bangkok on Friday by the Thai health experts, Professor. Dr. Narin Hirunsutthikul, Vice President of Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University, and Professor Dr. Yong Phuworawan, head of the virology centre of Chulalongkorn's Medical School. The Thai health experts noted that current outbreaks of the deadly pneumonia-like respiratory disease was caused by Coronavirus, which first spread in 2012 from camels to humans via contacts with the animal's body fluids, like saliva and urine. The Thai experts urged the public to stay calm, but frequently washing their hands and taking special care of the elderly, rather than children, as ageing people are more at risk of contracting the deadly virus through cough and sneeze of infected ones. Meanwhile, there have been nearly 40 confirmed MERS Co-V cases in South Korea, two of them have died, while the global fatality rate of the virus has stood at 37.5 per cent of infected cases, which is rather high. So far, travels to South Korea and the Middle East have not been prohibited, but travellers have been advised to immediately see a doctor if they have any suspicious symptom within a 14-day timeframe after returning from the areas at risk. (TNA)