BANGKOK, 29 October 2013 Although the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus has not been reported in Thailand, the Public Health Ministry will keep a close watch on the situation.
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has assured the public that the deadly disease Coronavirus has yet to be found among Muslim Thais who came back from the holy Hajj Pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. However, 4 pilgrims have reportedly come down with pneumonia, but are recovering from the illness.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 144 people worldwide infected by coronaviruses, 62 of them died of the disease. The infections were found in 9 countries, mainly in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Italy. The percentage of the patients killed by the disease is as high as 43 percent.
Meanwhile, DDC Director General Dr. Sopon Mekthon has urged all the returning pilgrims to see a doctor immediately if they catch a fever. For more information, please call the Department of Disease Control at 1422, twenty-four hours a day.
