A Thai man, who worked in a massage parlour in Qatar and returned to Thailand on Saturday, has been diagnosed as having monkeypox.
Dr. Tares Krassanairawiwong, acting director-general of Thailand’s Disease Control Department, said today (Monday)that the man began developing a fever and blisters on his hands and legs on October 8th, when he was still in Qatar.
He flew back to Thailand on Saturday and checked into a hospital in Pathum Thani for examination. Doctors suspected that he might have been infected with monkeypox and transferred him to the Bamrasnaradura Institute of Infectious Diseases for diagnosis and treatment.
Lab tests confirmed the monkeypox infection, making him Thailand’s 11th confirmed case, said Dr. Tares, adding that health investigators are making further enquiries in an effort to discover if there are any more infections.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sophon Iamsirithavorn, deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department, said that all 10 previously confirmed monkeypox cases have now recovered from the disease.
59 people, identified as having been in close contact with the infected, have been cleared of the disease and have gone through a 21-day monitoring period. Ten others are still being monitored.
Worldwide, there have been 72,198 confirmed monkeypox cases in 109 countries, according to data up to October 13th. The countries with the highest monkeypox cases are:
Nigeria, Brazil, Spain, Cameroon, the US, Belgium, Ecuador, India, Sudan, the Czech Republic and Cuba have seen a combined total of 28 monkeypox related deaths to date.
