Omani MERS patient's relatives tested for virus in Thailand

Photo By Pornchai Kittiwongsakul

Thai authorities on Friday said two relatives of an Omani man found to have MERS were being tested for the deadly virus in the kingdom.

Thailand, a booming medical tourism hub popular with Middle Eastern patients, on Thursday confirmed the Omani, 75, had MERS, days after he arrived at a Bangkok hospital for treatment for a heart condition.

On Friday the Omani patient was "getting a bit better", said Thailand's Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin at a press conference on the outskirts of Bangkok.

But two of his male family members, among three relatives with whom he travelled to Thailand on Monday, were being tested for MERS after one was found to have a cough and the other a fever.

"We have taken their samples for laboratory testing," Rajata told reporters, adding the results should be available Friday evening.

The relatives are in quarantine at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonthaburi province outside the Thai capital where the Omani patient is also being treated.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has spread at a rapid pace in South Korea since the first case was diagnosed on May 20, infecting 166 people in what is the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.

The MERS case was the first recorded in Thailand and also the first in Southeast Asia since the South Korean outbreak.

Thai authorities are monitoring a further 85 people who have been in contact with the Omani, including those on board his flight to Bangkok, at hospital or in their homes, a health ministry spokesman told AFP Friday.

Authorities are also still trying to locate one of the 21 "high risk" people identified on that flight -- a person from the northeastern Thai province of Buriram.

In a bid to contain the deadly virus Thai officials have installed thermoscans at airports to detect passengers with fever and are also handing out information pamphlets about MERS in Thai, Arabic and English.

Rajata also said that Thailand has informed airlines about the transit passengers and crew who are no longer in the country but deemed at risk after sharing the flight with the Omani man.

Earlier government spokesman Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told AFP authorities were confident that Thailand's measures to contain the virus were "under control".

According to World Health Organization data MERS cases have been reported in four Asian countries before Thailand since the virus first surfaced in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Malaysia and the Philippines reported cases before the South Korean outbreak in May, while China reported a person with MERS who had travelled to the country after recent exposure in South Korea, according to a WHO statement.

Source: Yahoo News

Thailand overtake Singapore in SEA Games medals table

28th SEA Games Singapore 2015 - National Stadium - Singapore - 12/6/15 Athletics - Women's 4x100m Relay - Final - Thailand's Thipat Supawan, Pakdee Khanrutai, Jaksuninkorn Phatsorn and Wannakit Tassaporn after winning the gold medal. Singapore SEA Games Organising...

REUTERS

Thailand, propelled by their track and field team and ace golfers, overtook host nation Singapore at the top of the medal standings at the Southeast Asian Games on Friday.

Tiny Singapore had led the 11-nation table since the first medal was decided 10 days ago but a lean return on Friday saw the city-state slip back to second place.

With their crack swimming team unable to contribute any more after their programme ended on Thursday, Singapore could only muster four golds on Friday, two in taekwondo and one each in shooting and waterskiing.

With four days to go, Singapore has 70 golds, still 20 more than they had managed any of the previous 27 editions of the region's biggest multi-sports event.

But Thailand, who finished at the top of the medal standings at three of the last four SEA Games, bagged 16 golds on Friday to inch into the lead with a total of 71.

Vietnam finished the day third with 62 with Malaysia the next best on 38.

Seven of Thailand's golds came on the final day of athletics at the National Stadium.

The Thais won both the men's and women's 4x100 metres relays as well as golds in the women's high jump, men's long jump, women's heptathlon, women's discus and men's 400m.

At Sentosa golf club, Thailand swept all four gold medals on offer.

Natipong Srithong won the men's individual title after beating Singapore's Johnson Poh on the first playoff hole after both men finished the fourth round at one-under par.

In the women's individual event, 17-year-old Suthavee Chanachai was a runaway winner, finishing their three-round competition 11 shots clear of the field at seven-under.

Thailand also won the men's and women's team golf events.

Badminton fans were given a fleeting glimpse of world number five Ratchanok Intanon's brilliance as she helped Thailand win the women's team event.

Ratchanok, 20, skipped the singles event because of a prior commitment but says she is feeling good about her chances of winning a second world singles title at this year's world championships in Indonesia.

"I am confident I can become world champion again, I feel much more comfortable with my game now, especially when compared to 2013," she said.

In waterski, Malaysia's 11-year-old child prodigy Aaliyah Yoong successfully defended her gold medal in the women's tricks competition.

Aaliyah became the youngest ever SEA Games gold medallist when she won the same event in 2011, but had to wait four years to defend her title after the sport was left on the schedule in 2013.

"I have been training a lot for the SEA Games," Yoong told reporters. "My dad says I am already a veteran and I guess I am already quite experienced at this level." - Reuters