Another case of MERS discovered in Thailand

A second case of the dangerous lung disease MERS has been discovered in Thailand. A 71-year-old man from Oman who traveled to Bangkok on Friday appears to be infected.

Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn of Public Health announced this today. The disease first emerged in June 2015.

The so-called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome is an infectious coronavirus virus from the Middle East and last year mainly caused problems in South Korea. At that time, 186 people became infected, of which 36 patients died (August 19, 2015). No new cases have been reported since July 4, 2015.

Symptoms of illness

Coronaviruses can cause respiratory infections in humans and animals. Usually this concerns cold complaints. The MERS coronavirus is a special type of coronavirus that can cause a more serious illness, with very serious respiratory complaints, also known as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). The patients suffer from fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Because of the serious complaints, these people are admitted to a hospital. Some patients have diarrhea. In healthy and younger people, the disease leads to a less severe clinical picture.

How do people become infected?

It is not yet entirely clear how a patient contracted the virus. A lot of research is being done into this. The virus is also found in dromedaries in the Middle East. It is suspected that the virus is transmitted to humans from these animals. Human-to-human transmission rarely occurs. The greatest risk of this is within the hospital. The MERS-Coronavirus is mainly transmitted from person to person by coughing and sneezing of an infected patient. The virus then reaches another person via small droplets. Especially people with poor health and therefore reduced resistance become ill more quickly than a healthy person.