PHUKET: A rumour that another case of monkeypox has been detected on this island province is groundless, provincial health office chief Kusak Kukiatkoon said yesterday.
The rumour -- that a woman was found to have the viral disease -- spread around Phuket on Tuesday. She allegedly had close relations with the Nigerian who was Thailand's first confirmed case of monkeypox. He later fled the kingdom and was arrested in Phnom Penh.
Dr Kusak said another suspected monkeypox case involves a Thai man aged 40 who had no link to the Nigerian.
The Thai man went to Thalang Hospital to see a doctor on Tuesday and was later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital for a PCR test for monkeypox. The result will come out within a couple of days, Dr Kusak said.
Dr Veerasak Lorthongkham, director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, said the man has had a fever for three days and developed blisters over his body.
Doctors believe it is likely chickenpox, he added.
"The man has never been in close contact with foreigners or been involved with sex services. He is an ordinary family man," Dr Veerasak said.
