Ministry Admits Errors In Tackling Swine Flu

[webfact]

Ministry admits errors in tackling swine flu

By PONGPHON SARNSAMAK

THE NATION

Published on January 2, 2010

The Public Health Ministry has accepted that it made mistakes in its handling of the type-A (H1N1) flu outbreak, admitting that it failed to deliver a clear message and left people confused about the preventive measures against the virus that claimed 191 lives.

"The ministry failed to create confidence among people over its measures against the flu outbreak and the people were confused by its messages to cope with the pandemic," Dr Kamnuan Ungchoosak, a senior health expert at the Disease Control Department, told The Nation.

Since the type-A (H1N1) virus hit the country last May, the ministry had consistently told people that the virus was not more virulent than the seasonal flu. As a result of this message, people became complacent and thought that no one would die after infection. But in medical terms the message meant that the mortality rate was less than 1 per cent and some ill people could die if infected.

So, when the ministry reported the first deaths from the new flu, people no longer believed in its preventive measures.

"We have learned that next time we should tell the public that the virus is virulent rather than saying the virus is not virulent," Kamnuan said.

The public also did not trust the ministry after it reported that a group of Thai students, who had returned from Mexico, were free of the virus. However, laboratory tests showed they had contracted the new flu.

The ministry also failed to immediately report the first death to the public. This failure raised doubts in the minds of the public that the Public Health Ministry was hiding the truth.

In fact, the first death from the flu was a patient who had been hospitalised and later died at a private hospital. Kamnuan said the hospital did not report immediately that the patient had died.

"We came to know about it eight days after the patient had died at the private hospital," he said.

The ministry learned that using infrared thermal scanners to screen people with influenza-like illness at the country's main gateways, such as Suvarnabhumi Airport, was totally ineffective.

"The ministry thought that this machine could detect people with the new flu virus and check the pandemic. In fact, it was absolutely ineffective," he added.

Kamnuan said the ministry's health experts had tried to inform the government that there was no need to use the thermal scanner, but the government wanted to reassure the public that it had done something concrete. However, the result was the opposite.

As most people panicked about the type-A (H1N1) flu, the ministry again sent the wrong message by saying, "if any suspicious symptoms are found, people with the flu virus should be tested to confirm the infection".

Kamnuan said the ministry had omitted to tell the public that the lab test was only used for purposes of disease surveillance.

As a consequence of the wrong information, people flocked to hospitals to undergo blood tests, which affected medical services.

The ministry also failed to inform about the chances of fatality to risk groups such as pregnant women and people with obesity and chronic diseases to undergo treatment at hospitals immediately they showed type-A flu symptoms. Most of them died as a result of delayed treatment.

The most important lesson the Public Health Ministry learned was the problem of misdiagnosis of the type-A (H1N1) flu, which led to some deaths from incorrect treatment.

Kamnuan said the ministry found that many people had died from dengue fever or leptospirosis after doctors misdiagnosed them as having influenza.

-- The Nation 201ß/1/2

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[geriatrickid]

Yes, once again I am vindicated. I pronounced on this 3 months ago. To all you doubters pffft.

Now that the minister is history let the blame game start.

[Credo]

It's interesting how they label what can only be lies as 'wrong information.' And there was plenty of lies that went around, along with some incorrect information as well.

[sharecropper]

It's interesting how they label what can only be lies as 'wrong information.' And there was plenty of lies that went around, along with some incorrect information as well.

And nowhere the word "misunderstanding", which must be a first in Thailand's sorry history of misunderstandings, misconceptions, mistaken assumptions - or lies and incompetence.

In fact, the first death from the flu was a patient who had been hospitalised and later died at a private hospital. Kamnuan said the hospital did not report immediately that the patient had died.

Also notice no naming and shaming. Any ideas which hospital?

[whatchamacallit]

apparently they were tackling the Swan flu instead of the Swine flu.... Oh well... you say Swan I say Swine....

[Credo]

The goal is to save politicians, not lives.

[Brunus]

Ministry admits errors. I still can't believe it!!!!!

[Donnyboy]

sack the lot of them

[selftaopath]

sack the lot of them

I totally agree. My question remains: How do these individuals get positions where they apparently are not qualified to even be part of a team? What positions of power in Lack of Sanctions (LOS) require highly qualified credentials?

Geeze, amazing Thailand for sure. Shaking my head (smh). YIKES

[Bagwan]

What a circus. Bring on the clowns. Oh! Don't bother. They're here.

[groovyc]

Ministry admits errors. I still can't believe it!!!!!

True! I still cant beleieve it!

This guy is a bigshot at the DDC at least partly responsible for what he claims went wrong,

so it does beat me.

There's gotta be a political motive behind it. backstabing someone bigger than himself?

btw, this DDC is full of crap. They were responsible for supplying information about the

pandemic progression and estimates of number of patients etc (which involves a bit of

calculations in theoretical epidemiology) to the parliament which in turn was used to decide

on intervention measures (social and pharmaceutical).

I have documentary proof showing that who was in charge of this informally outsourced it

(and pretended he did it all the time)

which should be against the govt policy as it could be a national security threat.

[Nienke]

This news report comes out just when the European Parliament is going to investigate the WHO, and more and more people who become very skeptical about the whole swine flu saga.

The Council of Europe member states will launch an inquiry in January 2010 on the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma‘s industry’s influence on WHO. The Health Committee of the EU Parliament has unanimously passed a resolution calling for the inquiry. The step is a long-overdue move to public transparency of a “Golden Triangle” of drug corruption between WHO, the pharma industry and academic scientists that has permanently damaged the lives of millions and even caused death.

The text of the resolution just passed by a sufficient number in the Council of Europe Parliament says among other things, “In order to promote their patented drugs and vaccines against flu, pharmaceutical companies influenced scientists and official agencies, responsible for public health standards to alarm governments worldwide and make them squander tight health resources for inefficient vaccine strategies and needlessly expose millions of healthy people to the risk of an unknown amount of side-effects of insufficiently tested vaccines. The "bird-flu"-campaign (2005/06) combined with the "swine-flu"-campaign seem to have caused a great deal of damage not only to some vaccinated patients and to public health-budgets, but to the credibility and accountability of important international health-agencies.”[2]

The Parliamentary inquiry will look into the issue of „falsified pandemic“ that was declared by WHO in June 2009 on the advice of its group of academic experts, SAGE, many of whose members have been documented to have intense financial ties to the same pharmaceutical giants such as GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, Novartis, who benefit from the production of drugs and untested H1N1 vaccines. They will investigate the influence of the pharma industry in creation of a worldwide campaign against the so-called H5N1 “Avian Flu” and H1N1 Swine Flu. The inquiry will be given “urgent” priority in the general assembly of the parliament. ...

http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=16667

[bushwacker]

Hmmmm.... I am really surprised that "most" of the pregnant and fat people ( ) died. Just yesterday I was out for a walk and I saw more than the normal number of fat people. Somebody actually stopped me and with a huge smile on their face told me I looked fat .... hmmm .... what is this about .... is this a thai complement or am I going to die also?!!!