Thailand reported a MERS case in a young traveler from Kuwait in late July, marking the country's third imported case, while Saudi Arabia has another new case, according to reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) today.
Fast recovery
The case in Thailand involved an 18-year-old Kuwaiti man who fell ill during a flight from Kuwait to Bangkok on Jul 25, the WHO said in a statement. He sought treatment at a Bangkok hospital the next day, and three laboratories found his samples positive for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) on Jul 28.
The man was admitted to Thailand's national referral hospital for infectious diseases, where he rapidly improved, the WHO said. He tested negative for MERS-CoV at four labs on Jul 31 and Aug 1.
The patient had had no recent direct contact with camels or with any MERS patients, but he had traveled in the Middle East in the 2 weeks before he got sick, the WHO reported. Family members who traveled with him tested negative for the virus, and there was no evidence of infection in other contacts, the agency said.
The man was released from the hospital and left Thailand with his family on Aug 4, the statement said.
Thailand's first MERS case was reported in a 75-year-old Omani man who was found to be infected after he flew to Bangkok for treatment of a heart condition in June 2015. A second case was reported last January in another Omani man, age 71, who also had flown to Bangkok for medical care.
Elderly Saudi man infected
The latest Saudi case involves a 69-year-old Saudi man in Taif, a city in the country's southwest, the MOH reported in today's update. The man, who is in stable condition, had no contact with other MERS patients and is not a healthcare worker, the ministry said. Officials were investigating whether he had any contact with camels.
The last previous Saudi case was reported 3 days ago in a 43-year-old man from Huraymala in the eastern part of the country.
Saudi Arabia's MERS case count has now reached 1,448, including 608 deaths and 3 patients still being treated, according to the MOH.
See also:
Aug 26 WHO statement
Jan 25 CIDRAP News story on previous MERS case in Thailand
Aug 26 MOH update
