Health officials say there is no outbreak of the Zika virus in Thailand and have urged people not to panic.
Dr Piyasakol Sakolsattayathon, Minister of Public Health, said the average number of patients was five people per year, with the first case of Zika infection in Thailand reported in 2012.
Just one case had been reported in Thailand so far this year, he said. Earlier this month a Thai man travelling to Taiwan for work was confirmed to be infected with Zika, becoming the first case reported in that country.
Piyasakol said the mosquito-borne virus was not fatal and most patients recovered by themselves.
However he warned that Zika was linked to abnormalities in infants whose mothers had been exposed to the virus during pregnancy, referring to the microcephaly condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads and have brains that have not developed properly.
Zika is like dengue and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes, although around 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms.
There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, and prevention efforts focus on protecting people from mosquitoes and reducing mosquito populations.
Department of Disease Control director-general Dr Amnuay Kachina said the best way to prevent the infection was to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, and advised pregnant women to avoid traveling to affected countries.
The World Health Organization yesterday said the virus is “spreading explosively” and could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas, Reuters reported.
About 20 countries, most in South America, are now affected by the Zika virus.
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Thai man in Taiwan confirmed to be country’s first case of Zika virus
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