THE PUBLIC HEALTH Ministry confirmed today (May 29) that three persons suspected to have been infected with monkeypox were found to have caught herpes, Matichon newspaper said.
Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, the head of the Disease Control Department, reassured that no monkeypox cases had emerged in this country with the three suspected cases having been cleared of this infection.
However laboratory tests by his department, the Infectious Diseases Health Science Centre at Chulalongkorn Hospital and Thai Red Cross Society verified that the three patients had been infected with herpes.
They are currently being treated for their rashes at Bamrasnaradura Institute and are expected to be discharged in a day or two.
“Right now there are only these three cases but the results showed it is not monkeypox and tomorrow the Disease Control Department’s Epidemiology Division will again give a briefing,” he said.
Dr. Opas added that the international disease control checkpoints are continuously screening and educating travellers because there are clear symptoms of monkeypox with rash and blisters emerging.
“Preliminary data shows that monkeypox is not as easy to catch as Covid-19, it requires really close contact. We think it will not cause a problem but we are not being careless because we have opened up the country and there are lots of people coming and going.
“Those who suspect they might be infected should seek medical help immediately,” he added.
The ministry also announced this morning that there were 3,649 Covid cases and 24 deaths over the past 24 hours with two being foreigners and the rest Thai. This takes the cumulative confirmed total since Jan. 1 to 2,219,213 and since the start of the pandemic 4,442,648, Sanook.com said.
Today’s 24 fatalities raised the death toll to 29,972,
Another 5,622 patients were cured taking total recoveries since Jan. 1 to 2,199,445 with 44,737 patients still undergoing treatment.
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Top: Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, left, and a monkey overlaid on monkeypox boils. Photo: Matichon
Home Page: About 75% of all new diseases, including those from major outbreaks such as SARS, bird flu and monkeypox, have come from animals. Photo: Allen Sullivan/ Associated Press and published by DeseretNews
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