Thai Health Experts Tell People To Avoid Public Places

[jfchandler]

The WHO web site referenced above says that for those using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, a good 30 seconds of rubbing hands together is adequate.

And here's their poster on soap and water hand washing, recommending a regimen of 40 to 60 seconds.

How_To_HandWash_Poster.pdf

And what does washing hands mean? For the few males I notice who "wash" their hands in public toilets it means simply running them under the water and shaking off the excess moisture. Of course there are no paper towels available. Soap may help but it is the SCRUBBING motion that removes the germs and bacteria. Even without soap, scrubbing of one hand against the other, back and front, and between the fingers is what is meant by hand washing in these circumstances.

Making sure you wash all areas of your hands is important but its the length of time the soap is actually in contact with your skin in order to kill the bacteria which is more important.

Two or three minutes if you're really that worried about it.

[hhiser]

This situation is beginning to get very scary. I think the closing of places of entertainment should be seriously considered, also any other places where a large number of people gather in one confined space. Of course it begs the question, what about supermarkets, bars, restaurants, airports etc. I would not want to be the minister who activated closure of these places too, but if a two week closure would see the dramatic reduction of infections we are told would occur, and possibility a swifter end to this 36 month plague, we should bite the bullet and do it.

Of course there is the question of compensation for lost revenue. But should money speak louder than human lives? Again I would not want to be the minister making that decision either.

P&M

What? Thailand should close everywhere where people gather (you forgot people gather in hospitals and doctor's offices too) for a disease that kills 0.45% of the people who get infected? Hopefully your suggestion should was made is just a beatiful example of English sarcasm and not serious!

[warmwater7]

The spread of the flu is considered unstoppable and as such the gov't needs to come up with a strategy to combat the flu. They may need to slow the spread to make sure the medical community can cope. That may mean closing certain places where people congregate and it may mean identifying 'clusters' where the outbreak is particularly prevalent. They may need to identify particularly vulnerable groups and seek to minimize their exposure both at schools and work places.

But first there needs to be a strategy of what they want to accomplish.

GOVT.?????????

WHAT GOVT?

[baht&sold]

GOVT.?????????

WHAT GOVT?

The FACT is, Thai Govt HAS been issuing CONSTANT statements via the Health Ministry for WEEKS, advising proper hygiene and other precautions. Unfortunately this has been lost in the NOISE, with reds surrounding hospitals in the N/NE and Puea Thai spokespersons 'helpfully' whipping up irrational flu-fear, along with the local media (and websites) SCREAMING 'breaking news' seemingly every bloody 5 minutes in a flu-fear ratings bonanza!!

It's extremely unfortunate the Thai Govt has been left with little choice but to WASTE limited time and resources on PACIFYING a public 'opportunistically' whipped into IRRATIONAL flu-fear by some, at the EXPENSE of those at greatest risk.

Limited resources are better focused on high-risk groups, NOT on 'pacifying' Thais (or especially Expats, who SHOULD be better informed!)

[ianh68]

question..... do muslim women catch less flu or other airborne diseases than those that do not coverr their face? all this face mask stuff made me wonder.

if the red and or yellow shirts threatened to hit the airports again the government could shut the country down for a couple of weeks and blame them.

I thought about this too (although it's only the yellow shirts who shut the airports). If the yellow shirts did hit the airports again and killed each other off by transmitting the virus to each other in a confined space at least it would simplify Thai politics a bit.

Disclaimer. This is called satire. It is not meant to be taken seriously. Relax.

[thaibeachlovers]

It is almost unbelievable that these so-called experts are totally divorced from reality : one does not have to be a epidemiologist (which I am) to understand that the request for Government "to tell people to avoid crowded places in order to slow down the increase in the H1N1 virus' fatality and infection rates" is patently rubbish , when one wonders how people will get to work, how children will get to school, how people will go to their markets??

What? close all factories, businesses, schools, transport systems. Switch all air conditioners. Close the Health centres and hospitals. Just in my little town with big schools the Sorng Theos arrive and leave with as many as 20 on a pickup, on the light truck as many as 40 children CRAMMED together.

Where do these idiots come from??? They might have read of Canute.

Don't call people idiots just because you are one yourself. Any sensible person would realise that the advice is to avoid crowded places whenever possible. Sensible advice.

You seem to have missed the point!

Just how would you advise people to get to work if they don't have a car, so as to avoid crowds? Perhaps you don't use public transport, but most do.

How would you advise people at work to avoid contact with one another; NBC suit perhaps?

[denissr]

Swine flu pandemic now 'unstoppable': WHO official

The swine flu pandemic has grown "unstoppable" and all nations will need access to vaccines, a WHO official has said, as 12 new deaths were reported and a study raised fresh concerns.

Britain, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand all reported deaths on Monday, while Saudi Arabia shut an international school after 20 students were diagnosed with the A(H1N1) virus.

As the death toll increased, the World Health Organisation official said a swine flu vaccine should be available as early as September and all countries would need to be able to protect themselves.

A group of vaccination experts concluded after a recent meeting that "the H1N1 pandemic is unstoppable and therefore all countries would need to have access to vaccines," said Marie-Paul Kieny, WHO director on vaccine research.

Health workers should be at the top of the list for vaccination since they will be in high demand as people continue to fall sick, she added.

Countries would be free to decide on their national priorities, but other groups should include pregnant women and anyone over six months old who has chronic health problems, the WHO official said.

Particular attention would have to be paid to children since they are considered "amplifiers" of the spread of the virus, especially when gathered in schools, Kieny added.

More than 90,000 swine flu cases have been reported worldwide, including 429 deaths, the most recent WHO numbers from last week show.

While most cases have been considered mild, a study released on Monday said the virus causes more lung damage than ordinary seasonal flu strains but still responds to antiviral drugs.

Virologists tested samples of the virus taken from patients in the United States as well as several seasonal flu viruses on mice, ferrets, macaque monkeys and specially-bred miniature pigs.

They found that A(H1N1) caused more severe lung lesions among mice, ferrets and macaques than the seasonal flu viruses.

But it did not cause any symptoms among the mini-pigs, which could explain why there has been no evidence that pigs in Mexico fell sick with the disease before the outbreak began among humans.

The team also found that the virus was highly sensitive to two approved and two experimental antiviral drugs, including Tamiflu, now being hurriedly stockpiled around the world.

This confirms the drugs' role as a "first line of defence" against the flu pandemic, they said.

The worry about the present strain of A(H1N1) is that it could pick up genes from other flu strains that would enable it to be both highly virulent and contagious, and these warnings are spelt out in the new study.

"Sustained person-to-person transmission might result in the emergence of more pathogenic variants, as observed in the 1918 pandemic virus," it says.

Another concern is that the virus could acquire mutations enabling it to be resistant to Tamiflu.

"Collectively, our findings are a reminder that (strains of swine flu) have not yet garnered a place in history, but may still do so."

Most of the deaths reported on Monday were in Asia, with Thailand reporting three fatalities and the Philippines two.

Thailand's death toll has now reached 21, while the Philippines has three deaths.

Authorities in Britain announced the deaths of a six-year-old girl and a doctor who had contracted swine flu, bringing the number of fatalities there linked to the virus to 17.

Brazil on Monday reported the death of a nine-year-old boy, taking the number of fatalities in the country to three. A young woman died in Colombia and three new deaths were reported in Mexico, taking the toll to 124.

In Europe, Italy's health ministry reported 38 new cases over the course of the last four days, taking its total well over the 200 mark.

The school closure in Riyadh came with officials there especially concerned over swine flu with upwards of two million people expected over the next five months on pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

-- AFP 2009-07-14

There have been 90,000 cases with 428 deaths Worldwide? I think I read early on that the USA in a normal flu season has 36,000 deaths per. year. I am trying to figure out why all the excitement and worry of this story? Will someone with more medical smarts than me expain.

[remil]

utterly absurd mask mania. i wonder who is making all the money from the useless masks, which are more likely to be a vector with all the face touching involved. Washing hands would be more effective.

The normal small masks that everyone wears do nothing because the virus is very very small and it can travel through it. You need one of those proper filter masks to help. (friends a doctor) Also clean your hands reguraly

[Jingthing]

The normal small masks that everyone wears do nothing because the virus is very very small and it can travel through it.

Yes also they get dirty and become virus transmitters themselves. They also need to changed EVERY FOUR HOURS. How many of the hysterics you see wearing these fashion items do you think CHANGE THEM EVERY FOUR HOURS?

[remil]

Swine flu pandemic now 'unstoppable': WHO official

The swine flu pandemic has grown "unstoppable" and all nations will need access to vaccines, a WHO official has said, as 12 new deaths were reported and a study raised fresh concerns.

Britain, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines and Thailand all reported deaths on Monday, while Saudi Arabia shut an international school after 20 students were diagnosed with the A(H1N1) virus.

As the death toll increased, the World Health Organisation official said a swine flu vaccine should be available as early as September and all countries would need to be able to protect themselves.

A group of vaccination experts concluded after a recent meeting that "the H1N1 pandemic is unstoppable and therefore all countries would need to have access to vaccines," said Marie-Paul Kieny, WHO director on vaccine research.

Health workers should be at the top of the list for vaccination since they will be in high demand as people continue to fall sick, she added.

Countries would be free to decide on their national priorities, but other groups should include pregnant women and anyone over six months old who has chronic health problems, the WHO official said.

Particular attention would have to be paid to children since they are considered "amplifiers" of the spread of the virus, especially when gathered in schools, Kieny added.

More than 90,000 swine flu cases have been reported worldwide, including 429 deaths, the most recent WHO numbers from last week show.

While most cases have been considered mild, a study released on Monday said the virus causes more lung damage than ordinary seasonal flu strains but still responds to antiviral drugs.

Virologists tested samples of the virus taken from patients in the United States as well as several seasonal flu viruses on mice, ferrets, macaque monkeys and specially-bred miniature pigs.

They found that A(H1N1) caused more severe lung lesions among mice, ferrets and macaques than the seasonal flu viruses.

But it did not cause any symptoms among the mini-pigs, which could explain why there has been no evidence that pigs in Mexico fell sick with the disease before the outbreak began among humans.

The team also found that the virus was highly sensitive to two approved and two experimental antiviral drugs, including Tamiflu, now being hurriedly stockpiled around the world.

This confirms the drugs' role as a "first line of defence" against the flu pandemic, they said.

The worry about the present strain of A(H1N1) is that it could pick up genes from other flu strains that would enable it to be both highly virulent and contagious, and these warnings are spelt out in the new study.

"Sustained person-to-person transmission might result in the emergence of more pathogenic variants, as observed in the 1918 pandemic virus," it says.

Another concern is that the virus could acquire mutations enabling it to be resistant to Tamiflu.

"Collectively, our findings are a reminder that (strains of swine flu) have not yet garnered a place in history, but may still do so."

Most of the deaths reported on Monday were in Asia, with Thailand reporting three fatalities and the Philippines two.

Thailand's death toll has now reached 21, while the Philippines has three deaths.

Authorities in Britain announced the deaths of a six-year-old girl and a doctor who had contracted swine flu, bringing the number of fatalities there linked to the virus to 17.

Brazil on Monday reported the death of a nine-year-old boy, taking the number of fatalities in the country to three. A young woman died in Colombia and three new deaths were reported in Mexico, taking the toll to 124.

In Europe, Italy's health ministry reported 38 new cases over the course of the last four days, taking its total well over the 200 mark.

The school closure in Riyadh came with officials there especially concerned over swine flu with upwards of two million people expected over the next five months on pilgrimages to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

-- AFP 2009-07-14

There have been 90,000 cases with 428 deaths Worldwide? I think I read early on that the USA in a normal flu season has 36,000 deaths per. year. I am trying to figure out why all the excitement and worry of this story? Will someone with more medical smarts than me expain.

This flu is in a period of a couple of months in like 10 different countries. Not only that not only the weak and sick get it you can be perfectly heathly and die from it. It is also a lot stronger than the common flu. This is how the virus will spread from people who just dont care. I think its gonna be a lot worth than the government predicts because of the simple fact that no one seems to care and thinks its just gonna fly by. They have predicted 30,000,000 to be infected by this before the end of the year. mmmmm 30 million sick how many will die??? probably more than your 36 000 and thats in less than a year. also they have found cases that reject the medication. Personally better be safe than sorry!!

[noahvail]

Just reading this thread makes me feel sick.

As I said previously, I am wearing my WWII gas mask, have stocked up on canned foods and ammunition. Is there anything I have overlooked?

I was serious about feeling sick too

See, this is my problem with taking long-haul flights and being away for two weeks. I'm very late in answering your very serious question with a very serious answer: Toilet Paper!!!!!