12 monitored after coming in contact with confirmed monkeypox patient

Dr Chakkrarat Pitthaya, director of the Epidemiology Division of the Disease Control Department, said the passenger was in Bangkok for two hours before he caught a flight to Australia, where he was confirmed to have monkeypox.

The confirmation of the infection prompted the department to closely monitor the condition of 12 airline crew and passengers who were in close proximity to the patient, Chakkrarat said.

He said the 12 individuals have not shown any symptoms of the disease so far. He did not provide any details of the flight.

Separately, he said, the five suspected cases in Phuket turned out to be the herpes simplex virus (HSV), not monkeypox as feared earlier.

He said the cases included three Irish brothers who were in Phuket to learn muay Thai. They had clear blisters that were initially suspected to have been caused by monkeypox, but RT-PCR tests revealed the infection to be HSV.

Two Thai nationals, who used the same gymnasium as the three tourists, also developed blisters, but they too tested positive for HSV.

Chakkrarat said the five were admitted to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute for treatment.

Meanwhile, 20 others, including trainers and students, were put under close surveillance for HSV infections.

So far, there have been 406 confirmed monkeypox cases and 88 suspected cases in 32 countries. The five countries outside Africa with the highest number of monkeypox cases are the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Canada. No monkeypox cases have been detected in Thailand so far, Chakkrarat added.

He advised that people with fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes and blisters on limbs and face should see a doctor, especially if they have returned from countries where monkeypox cases have been detected.