Thailand on alert against MERS

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - Thai authorities have been on alert against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), after the first confirmed patient of the deadly virus was reported on June 18. Authorities concerned in not only Bangkok, but also provincial areas, especially those at hospitals and border checkpoints, have stepped up preventive measures on people entering the country. Authorities at Hat Yai International Airport in Songkhla Province in the Thai Far South, for instance, have coordinated with immigration and other concerned authorities in screening new arrivals. At Trang Airport in nearby Trang Province, authorities have initially found three passengers who just returned from South Korea and doctors are, thus, closely monitoring their conditions for 30 days to make sure that they do not carry the deadly disease. Meanwhile, local doctors have, again, warned the public to take good care of their health by frequently washing their hands and consuming warmly-cooked food, while going to see a doctor immediately if they have flu-like symtoms. The 75-year-old male patient from the Middle East arrived in Thailand to receive medical treatment for his heart disease at a private hospital on June 15 and doctors at the hospital later alerted the Ministry of Public Health after they had found the man had respiratory illnesses similar to MERS and the foreign patient was, thus, transferred to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute in Bangkok's neighbouring Nonthaburi Province on early Thursday. (TNA)