A Thai woman who was quarantined for two days on suspicion of having contracted the Ebola virus has not shown any symptoms indicating the infection, a health official said on Saturday.
The confirmation came as authorities at Suvarnabhumi Airport announced they were stepping up screening of inbound passengers from West Africa where the virulent disease has killed at least 1,400 people.
The 48-year-old woman had a fever but her temperature did not reach 37 degrees Celsius, so she was not considered an Ebola patient, said Dr Opas Karnkavinpong, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said. Her blood test also confirmed she was free of the disease.
Another blood test will be conducted on Sunday. If there are no suspicious signs, she will be discharged from hospital. However, medical personnel will keep monitoring the woman and 13 other people close to her for 21 days, which is the incubation period of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
A health official at Suvarnabhumi airport monitors the temperatures of passengers arriving from inbound flights. (Photo by Somchai Poomlard)
The woman had arrived into Bangkok from Liberia on Wednesday and went to see a doctor at a private hospital because she was afraid that she might have contracted the virus.
Dr Opas praised the woman for her high sense of social responsibility as she had contacted the Public Health Ministry even after tests at the private hospital ruled out EVD. The headache and rashes she experienced were later confirmed to have resulted from an allergy.
Dr Opas said EVD was not transmitted through the air, so people should not panic. It can be transmitted only through direct contact with body fluids including blood and lymph.
At Suvarnabhumi Airport, five more thermal scanners are being installed to monitor the temperatures of inbound passengers to prevent any outbreak of the deadly virus in Thailand.
The international quarantine division of Suvarnabhumi airport on Thursday installed a thermal scanner at Concourse E to screen travellers arriving from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, said Jariengroj Krishna, director of the medical department for Airports of Thailand.
Travellers with elevated temperatures will be taken to the international quarantine facility. Staff there will counsel them and take measures laid down by the Public Health Ministry, Dr Jariengroj said.
He said authorities were looking to install five additional scanners — three at the passport control counter and two in the transit area.
Travellers can also use anti-bacterial hand gels provided in more than 80 areas inside the airport, he added.
If any EVD patients are detected, authorities say they will be treated at Rajavithi, Nopparat Rajathanee and Children's hospitals as well as Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. Patients in other provinces will receive care at provincial medical centres.
People can seek advice and additional information about Ebola from the Department of Disease Control via its 1422 hotline number free of charge around the clock.
The number of confirmed EVD patients currently stands at 2,615 and 1,427 of them have died in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Lagos in Nigeria.
Severe outbreaks are being reported from Liberia and Sierra Leone and health authorities there say the number of those infected and dead is probably underestimated.