As the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has entered Southeast Asia with the first case being confirmed in Thailand, the government is closely watching the development in anticipation of a potential outbreak.
The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the government was carefully watching the Thai case to prepare for a possible outbreak.
“There are important lessons to be learned from the new case in Thailand, which is less than a three-hour flight from Indonesia,” the ministry’s research and development agency head, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, told The Jakarta Post.
Thailand, a booming medical tourism hub popular with Middle Eastern patients, announced its first positive MERS case on Thursday after about 20 people earlier tested negative for the virus.
The man in question is from Oman and traveled to a central Bangkok hospital for treatment for a heart problem.
“Since he came from Oman, we still have to watch the Arabian gulf. This has become a concern for our would-be pilgrims who plan to travel to Saudi Arabia on umrah [minor pilgrimage]. While the cases in South Korea have eased off, infections from the Arabian Gulf keep happening,” Tjandra said.
MERS spread at an alarmingly rapid pace in South Korea after the first case was diagnosed on May 20, infecting 166 in what was the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia. Twenty-four of the afflicted died of the disease in Korea. Tjandra also pointed out that a patient’s age was one of the contributing factors of infection.
“The patient is 75 years old and advanced age is one of the factors that could increase the risk of infection. Elderly people make up the largest number of our haj pilgrims, which is why they need extra attention from officials and relatives who accompany them,” said Tjandra.
Globally, at least 1,200 people have been infected with MERS and some 450 have died since the virus first emerged in 2012.
During the 2012-2013 period, however, no Indonesian umrah or haj pilgrims were reported to have contracted the disease. The spread of the disease only started to escalate in 2014, with two Indonesians diagnosed with the disease while in Saudi Arabia.
One of them died after being treated for seven days at King Saud Hospital in Jeddah.
Following the first case, Thai health authorities stepped up the screening of foreigners entering Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok to include all passengers from seven countries where infections have been confirmed, with about 30,000 people per day having to pass inspection checkpoints before entering Thailand and facing close monitoring after their arrival.
While the condition of the sole confirmed MERS patient has improved, 176 people are known to have been in close contact with him.
No new cases of MERS have been reported in Thailand, but three new infections have been found in South Korea.
While Thailand has beefed up its screening for the disease, Indonesian director general for disease control and environmental health HM Subuh said that similar action was not yet necessary here.
“It’s not yet needed because the case in Thailand is an Oman citizen,” he told the Post on Tuesday.
That said, the Indonesian government has introduced a precautionary measure by screening citizens from the Arabian gulf and South Korea at all international hubs, both airports and seaports, in the country.
Tjandra, meanwhile, said the screening employed at airports was not foolproof.
“The patient in Thailand has been ill since June 10 and he went to Thailand specifically for medical treatment. When he arrived at the airport on June 15, his MERS was not detected by the screening even though he was already sick. This confirms that screening cannot prevent MERS entering a country 100 percent,” he said.