Thailand: 1 laboratory-confirmed case of MERS-CoV, the country’s second case.
February 1st, 2016The case is a 71-year-old Omani national who arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on 22 January. The patient travelled to Thailand to seek medical care. Once in Bangkok, the patient was admitted to hospital. On 23 January, he tested positive for MERS-CoV.
The patient, who has comorbidities, first developed symptoms on 14 January while in Oman. On 18 January, he was admitted to hospital. On 21 January, against medical advice, the patient self-discharged from hospital. The patient was sampled before leaving the hospital. The sample tested positive for MERS-CoV on 25 January, after the patient had already left Oman.
On 24 January, the National IHR Focal Point of Oman was informed about the case for the necessary follow up on contacts back in Oman and investigation of history of exposure. Investigations revealed that the case had contacts with camels in the 14 days prior to the onset of symptoms. No epidemiological links have been established between this case and the latest case detected in Oman.
Measures are being taken to trace all contacts of the cases in Oman, during his journey to Thailand, and within Bangkok.
Globally, since September 2012, WHO has been notified of 1,633 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including at least 587 related deaths.