Dr Kusak delivered his statement of assurance during a radio interview yesterday (May 27).
Dr Kusak confirmed that no infections of monkeypox, a much less serious strain of the related smallpox, had been detected in Phuket.
“There have been 209 confirmed cases found in 22 countries. Most of them found in countries such as England, Spain, Belgium or Portugal,” Dr Kusak said.
“Animal-to-human transmission is possible, similar to chickenpox,” he added.
“There have been no confirmed cases in Thailand, including Phuket, even though Phuket is a province that has a lot of foreign tourists coming in now that the government has relaxed the conditions of travel to the country,” Dr Kusak noted.
“The relevant agencies are closely monitoring the situation, including monitoring those traveling from high-risk countries,” he said.
“The Ministry of Public Health requires all provinces to be on the lookout for the disease, especially the screening of people returning from high-risk countries, checking whether arrivals have a rash or a fever,” he continued.
“Therefore, I would like people to know that monkeypox is contagious through close contact. If you touch a wound, or items from an infected person, or are in close proximity when an infected person coughs or sneezes, you can become infected,” Dr Kusak said.