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Thailand is still free from monkey pox, ten suspected cases were negative

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Thailand is still free from monkey pox, ten suspected cases were negative

All ten suspected cases of monkeypox have tested negative, the virus has so far not been detected in Thailand, the national health service said.

The Director-General of this service, Dr. Grandfather Karnkawinpong said the Ministry of Health had received reports from foreign disease control checkpoints and private and public hospitals across the country that there were a total of ten cases of monkeypox and that all the patients were foreigners.

Later lab tests, however, showed that they did not have monkeypox, Opas made clear.

He said six of the individuals were actually infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and had undergone muay Thai training at gyms in Phuket and Krabi.

Lab tests showed that the other four cases were simply skin infections, Opas added.

Dr Opas said the local public health agencies had been instructed to advise the Muay Thai gyms where the patients are trained to clean all equipment and use disinfectants regularly.

Gyms have also been asked to be vigilant and check if their customers have a rash or blisters, in which case they should direct the customers to see a doctor and the patients should notify authorities of their timeline, Opas said.

DrChakkarat Pittayawong-anont, director of DCD’s Department of Epidemiology, said the latest suspicious case was reported Tuesday by a private hospital in Samut Prakan.

The patient is said to be an Australian boxer who arrived in Thailand on June 7. He received training at a Pathum Thani gym before developing a fever, cough and sore throat. Later he developed a rash and clear and contagious blisters on his face, neck and arms.

Chakkarat said a subsequent lab test showed he did not have monkeypox, but doctors would still be looking for the cause of the symptoms.

The World Health Organization reported that from May 7 to June 22, monkeypox has been confirmed in 3,157 people in 45 countries. The first case in Southeast Asia was discovered in Singapore. The patient is a British flight attendant, 42, who visited Singapore from June 15-17 and returned to the island country on June 19.

In the Netherlands, monkeypox infection has now been diagnosed in 167 people and in Belgium, there would be 77.

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