A Nigerian man with Thailand’s first confirmed case of monkeypox is reported to have fled a Phuket hospital.
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) on Thursday evening reported confirmation of a case of monkeypox, a viral disease, diagnosed in a 27-year-old man who had arrived in Phuket from Nigeria.
Last week, he was admitted to a private hospital with a fever, coughing, sore throat and runny nose, a rash and lesions in his genital area that spread to other parts of his body and face.
A PCR lab test found that the man had monkeypox.
According to Thai media, he left the hospital on Thursday. Matichon online reported that he drove away in a white car.
Police, immigration and disease control officials have been assigned to find him, the reports said
Meanwhile, hospitals, sexual disease clinics and international airports have been alerted to strengthen screening procedures for monkeypox.
According to the World Health Organisation, monkeypox is still primarily found in homosexual groups.
