Thailand has earned fame for being a top medical tourism destination .It is combating the grave impact of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) with proficiency it claims, owing to its high standards of medical treatment.
The first case of MERS was detected in Thailand on the 18.05.15 when a 75 year old man had come to Bangkok for a heart treatment but contacted MERS and is now under proper care.
Medical tourism in Thailand accounts for 10 per cent of the Thai economy. It is also considered a top destination in Southeast Asia as a low cost healthcare venue. On an average Thailand receives 1.4 million medical tourists a year, compared to Singapore which receives 600,000 medical tourists a year.
About 176 people have been exposed to MERS in Thailand according to authorities. South Korea is currently battling the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia. It has reported two more deaths and three new cases on Monday, bringing the number of fatalities to 27 and the total infections to 172.
Thailand is prepared to handle the MERS affected patients from Korea and the Middle East specially after seeing how South Korea handled their patients. Thailand is accustomed to handling tourists; it handles more than 25 million visitors each year.
Thailand is taking precautions by handing face masks to visitors. Also visitors are going through thermoscanning equipment and special aeroplane parking bays set aside for flights coming in from high-risk countries. Those coming from South Korea and the Middle East are going through heightened screening.
