Medical tourism expertise helps Thailand cope with MERS

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's status as a hub for medical tourism could be helping the country contain the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), government and health officials said, after confirming its first case of the deadly virus last week.

Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of the Thai economy, and the country is also the top destination in Southeast Asia for patients seeking low-cost, quality healthcare, with an average 1.4 million medical tourists a year, compared with 600,000 for Singapore, a Thai medical tourism association said.