A deadly virus that has killed nearly 20 people in South Korea has now spread to Thailand, with officials scrambling to contain it.
Thai officials announced Friday that a 75-year-old patient has Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, which has killed 19 people and sickened more than 150 in South Korea as of this week. Officials with the Bumrungrad International Hospital said Friday there are no other current or suspected cases of MERS in the hospital.
“The hospital continues to strictly monitor and screen all patients, families and staff who have had possible exposure,” said the hospital, one of Thailand’s largest.
The patient came to the hospital’s emergency room June 15 with flu-like symptoms and has been isolated ever since.
The announcement of another country being affected by the virus comes as officials had hoped the outbreak that started last month was starting to subside.
The World Health Organization recently said that it didn’t think travel bans were necessary as South Korean officials were doing a good job controlling the outbreak. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t recommend Americans change their travel plans to South Korea due to MERS.
The person who started the Korean outbreak after flying to the country from Bahrain also traveled to China. The country was able to quickly locate and quarantine any contacted people, the WHO has said.
The virus spreads through anyone who has close contact with an infected person.
