Phuket health officials confirm no more monkeypox cases detected

Following the discovery of what officials have called Thailand’s first monkeypox case, Phuket’s provincial health chief says there have been no more cases found on the island. The news comes as 12 out of 19 people tested for the virus have tested negative, with results on the other 7 expected in the coming days.

The 19 were deemed close contacts of a Nigerian patient officials describe as Thailand’s first case of the virus, despite the fact that he’d allegedly been in the country since October. Following his diagnosis, the man managed to escape from the hospital where he was being treated and fled the country, before being arrested in Cambodia. Thailand’s health minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the Nigerian national had overstayed his Thai visa and the country does not want him back.

Meanwhile, Phuket’s provincial health chief, Kukiat Kukiatikul, says officials are conducting active case-finding on the island. He adds that the public can be reassured that the island has adequate disease prevention measures to control the spread of the virus.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post