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Thailand's Ministry of Public Health has confirmed the 1st case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country, adding that 59 other people close to the patient are being closely monitored. At a press conference, the Minister of Public Health disclosed that the patient is a Middle Eastern man, aged 75, who traveled to Thailand from Oman on 15 Jun 2015.
The risk associated with novel coronavirus to the general UK population remains extremely low.
Although the source of the virus and the mechanism of transmission is unknown, it would be prudent to try to reduce the general risk of infection while travelling by:
• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Frequent handwashing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment.
• Adhering to food safety and hygiene rules such as avoiding undercooked meats, raw fruits and vegetables unless they have been peeled, or unsafe water.
• People at high risk of severe disease due to MERS-CoV should avoid close contact with animals when visiting farms or barn areas where the virus is known to be potentially circulating. For the general public, when visiting a farm or a barn, general hygiene measures, such as regular hand washing before and after touching animals, avoiding contact with sick animals should be adhered to.
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands) and to delay travel until they are no longer symptomatic.
Consider the possibility of MERS-CoV infection in travellers with fever, cough, shortness of breath, or breathing difficulties, or other symptoms suggesting an infection, and with a recent history (within 14 days) of travel to affected countries.
If a diagnosis of MERS–CoV infection is considered possible, apply infection prevention and control measures recommended by WHO, or outlined in national guidance, and refer the patient to a special infectious disease unit for further investigation.
