the high-risk group com prised three relatives of the 75-year-old Omani man, 14 air passengers who had sat close to him on his flight to Bangkok two taxi drivers, and 17 medical personnel Their conditions were all normal but they would continue to be monitored as part of a 14-day quarantine, he said. Dr Surachet also said that the Omani man was recovering at the Bamrasnara dura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nonth aburi. He was able to eat by himself and was receiving treatment for a pre-existing res- piratory illness and chronic heart disease. The Omani man is the only confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Mers) in Thailand. He arrived on June 15 for treatment of his heart condition
Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. His Mers infection was confirmed on June 18. Dr Surachet said that as of June 20 there were 1,338 Mers patients reported world- wide and 475 had died. As of Friday, there were 181 Mers patients in South Korea and 31 deaths. Anew Mers patient was reported yester- day in South Korea, raising the number of infected people there to 182. South Korea is preparing to stage the World University Games from July 3-14 and Thailand will be sending a team. Dr Surachet said doctors would accompany the athletes and they would be monitored after their return to Thailand. No Mers cases have been reported in the areas surrounding the venue for the games and no country had withdrawn ath letes from the event, he said Since the Mers outbreak began, screen- ing in Thailand had detected 107 people 61 arriving from South Korea and 46 from the Middle East with symptoms that warranted further laboratory tests. No further cases of the virus have been found.