Thailand’s 11th monkeypox patient confirmed in Bangkok

Thailand’s 11th monkeypox patient has been confirmed in Bangkok. The acting director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said today that the patient is a 40 year old masseur.

The masseur returned to Bangkok from Qatar on Saturday. The DDC’s acting director-general, Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, said the man started getting a fever and blisters on his hands and legs on October 8, while he was still in Qatar, Thai PBS reported.

The man flew back to Thailand on Saturday and checked into a hospital in Pathum Thani for an examination. He was then transferred to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute in Nonthaburi after doctors suspected he had monkeypox. Lab results then confirmed that he was infected.

Meanwhile, the department’s deputy director-general says that Thailand’s 10 previous monkeypox patients have all recovered from the disease. Dr Tares said that health officials are investigating to find if there are any more infections.

The latest patient is not the first person in Thailand to have monkeypox after returning from the Middle East. Another patient confirmed with monkeypox last month, a 23 year old man, had also returned from Qatar. A 25 year old woman confirmed with monkeypox in August had returned from Dubai.

Thailand’s first monkeypox case was a 27 year old Nigerian man in Phuket, the second case was a Thai man in Bangkok, the third case was found in a German tourist in Phuket, and the fourth in a Thai woman in Samut Prakan.

According to the US CDC, there have been 73,288 monkeypox cases across the globe as of October 14. There have been a total of 28 confirmed deaths.