Mers alert in Rayong: Test results indicate flu, not Mers (Updated)

As South Korean officials consider a possible date for declaring the country Mers-free, a Thai man was been rushed to hospital with Mers-like system after a visit by an ill friend who had just returned that country. The friend later died. (Latest: Test results indicate flu not Mers)

Please join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/bangkokpostlearning

Authorities in Rayong have isolated this man, who reported to hospital with symptoms of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) disease, and fear Mers has been brought in by workers from Korea – one of whom died last week. JUMPHOL NIKOMRUK

Update: 9:10am

Our sister newspaper Post Today reports that test results indicate the man initially suspected of having Mers, actually has the flu and that his condition has improved That is not a surprise since there have been no recent cases in South Korea, but it is also a big relief because if the man had Mers, he and his friend would likely have been in contact with large numbers of people.

Early story

Mers alert in Rayong

There have been no reported new cases of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) in South Korea for more than two weeks.

Policy-makers there are considering when they can declare their country Mers-free, possibly in early August, or, at the latest, by mid-month.

The disease has not spread to the general population and has been almost completely confined to hospitals.

Thus, it is a bit of a shock that a seriously-ill Thai man is under observation for the disease in a Rayong Hospital after a visit by three friends who had just returned from a livestock farm in South Korea.

Test results should be known by today. Meanwhile, here is what we know about his case:

Suspected Mers case in Rayong

Jumpol Nikomrak

An unnamed Thai man suspected of contracting the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) was admitted to Rayong Hospital in Muang district in Rayong province Tuesday.

The patient was identified only as a 27-year-old male employee of a petrochemical plant in the province.

Prasit Thongsadayu, a doctor at Rayong Hospital, said doctors have yet to confirm if the man has Mers because they are still waiting for the test results.

The man was quarantined in a makeshift tent on the hospital's grounds before he was transferred to a room for patients infected with respiratory tract diseases.

A source from the hospital said the patient was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance Tuesday evening after he developed symptoms similar to Mers two days ago.

According to a background check, he fell ill after three of his friends, who had worked on a livestock farm in Korea, visited him. During the visit, he noticed one of his friends also had similar symptoms to him.

His friend died shortly after he went back to his hometown in Ubon Ratchathani province, and the cause of his death has yet to be verified.

Dr Prasit said people with Mers will show symptoms similar to the flu, including high fever, dry cough, severe shortness of breath and diarrhoea. The disease can be transmitted through sneezing and coughing and those who contract it can die within three to four weeks.

Thailand's only confirmed Mers patient was a 75-year-old man from Oman who was visiting Thailand with his family in June.

He returned home earlier this month after being quarantined for treatment at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.

สามารถฝึกอ่านออกเสียงและดูคำแปลได้ที่ : http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/630988/mers-alert-in-rayong