Freeze On Ice Production After Hepatitis Outbreak

[george]

Freeze on ice production after hepatitis outbreak

Major outbreak of hepatitis A in Lampang and Chiang Rai

BANGKOK: -- The Ministry of Public Health today announced strict control measures for ice factories, following a major outbreak of hepatitis A in Thailand's northern provinces of Lampang and Chiang Rai, which health officials have traced to contaminated ice.

Speaking in response to the hepatitis outbreak, which has already infected 906 people, the Permanent Secretary for Public Health, Dr. Vichai Tienthavorn, said that initial inspections pointed to an ice factory in Chiang Rai Province which drew its water from local artesian wells.

Samples taken from the water show it to be contaminated with coliform, a bacteria indicating the presence of faeces.

The first victims of the hepatitis outbreak were discovered on 7 April in Lampang’s Wieng Pa Pao district, and the number of cases surged during the first two weeks of May.

There are now 906 people being treated for the disase, of whom 11 are in Chiang Rai’s Mae Saruay district, 531 in Wieng Pa Pao and 264 in Wang Neua.

Local hospitals are still seeing a steady trickle of 10-50 patients a day although doctors have stressed that none of the cases are serious.

Hepatitis A, spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water, causes jaundice for a couple of weeks, but normally clears up of its own accord.

Dr. Vichai urged members of the public to avoid the disease by ensuring that they paid attention to food hygiene, while also announcing controls on ice production factories.

Mobile medical teams are now going round the northern provinces to take blood samples from anyone thought to be at risk from the virus.

--TNA 2005-05-25

[lemon]

looks like it's one time the 'don't have ice in your drink in Asia' advice could be worth something...tho personally reckon the odds of catching something from ice is probably less than getting food-poisoning from the food - and that isnt very likely either...that is unless you're living in the Chiang Rai area atm

[zigeuner]

looks like it's one time the 'don't have ice in your drink in Asia' advice could be worth something...tho personally reckon the odds of catching something from ice is probably less than getting food-poisoning from the food - and that isnt very likely either...that is unless you're living in the Chiang Rai area atm 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks to drinking cold beer from a can, rather than g & t etc. I was one of only three to escape a food poisoning episode in HK some years ago. It was traced to the ice. so you see it is easier than one thinks. I have had food poisoning 8 times in BKK and I consider my self careful.

Comments along the lines of "not careful enough" are expected so save the bandwidth.

[maerim]

The Ministry of Public Health today announced strict control measures for ice factories, following a major outbreak of hepatitis A in Thailand's northern provinces of Lampang and Chiang Rai, which health officials have traced to contaminated ice.

No mention of course of the names of the firms that supply this delicacy, as per usual.

[jorj41]

does beer kill this organism?

[maerim]

does beer kill this organism?

No it doesn't, but if you are already sick or recovering from an illness it can kill you.

But hey, it's only a food factory so what the heck?

[mnoorsapl]

Only in the North ?

No ice for me, straight up and chilled beer.

[george]

Update:

War declared on hepatitis A

CHIANG RAI: -- Public-health officials yesterday added chlorine to water sources in Wiang Pa Pao and Mae Suay districts in an effort to contain the spread of hepatitis A.

The outbreak of the communicable disease, which began last month, has already infected about 550 people in the two districts.

"The chlorine will disinfect the water," said Dr Somboon Panwong, director of Wiang Pa Pao Hospital, after he was assigned to control the outbreak in both districts.

He said public-health officials had also fanned out into villages to advise local people to stick to clean food and utensils.

He said the incubation period of hepatitis A is about one month, during which unsuspecting carriers can pass the disease on to others. Sharing utensils with patients and contact with their bodily fluids can cause infections, he said.

Somboon said the results of lab tests on locally-made ice and drinking-water products should be available soon. There are about a dozen drinking water and ice factories in the two districts.

Patient Wattanapon Panwong, 22, said he did not know how he contracted hepatitis A, but suspected it was from ice or drinking water.

"I regularly drink water with ice during summer," he said.

Dr Thepnarumit Methanawin, head of public health in the province, said campaigns were now ongoing to educate local people about how to guard against the virus.

--The Nation 2005-05-26

[thymode91]

Only in the North ? 

No ice for me, straight up and chilled beer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[sriracha john]

Samples taken from the water show it to be contaminated with coliform, a bacteria indicating the presence of faeces.

Hep A can be very serious and lethal for kids and the elderly. It is also is transmittable to others during the long (a month) incubation period before someone is aware they are sick. Coliform presence is also indicative of E. Coli, another serious health problem. Closer monitoring of ice factories is obviously needed. I hope they can improve things there and elsewhere.

[jaideeguy]

I'v often wondered if there are regulations reguarding the production of ice and 'distilation' [?] of water, but can't live without either and just take my chances and haven't had a problem [knock on wood] in the 7 years that i've lived here.

and something that i've always wondered about is if the ice is clean, but comes in contact with something contaminated in the cooler, then you use the ice for drinking.....can the contaminate be passed with the ice even if it is rinsed??

just wondering??/

[Lord Toad]

looks like it's one time the 'don't have ice in your drink in Asia' advice could be worth something...

I remember when I was in Turkey many years ago I was warned of ice. As a result I never used it unless I was somewhere I knew. I never had all the stomach problems many tourists had: especially soon after they arrived! Ice is a common source of problems and a good sales aid to Imodium!

[afalang]

this whole episode just goes to show.....always ask for fresh ice rather than the frozen stuff.

[Thetyim]

Freeze on ice production after hepatitis outbreak

Hepatitis A, spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water, causes jaundice for a couple of weeks, but normally clears up of its own accord.

--TNA 2005-05-25

Don't listen to this man.

I've had Hep A.

It lasted for months and nearly killed me.

It does not clear itself up.

Do I use ice ? NO.

[peder.klockmann]

Just go to the hospital and ask for TWINRIX immunization injections.

They contain the strains of both HEP A and HEP B.

It is a 3 shot sequence.

1.) First Shot

2.) 1 month after First Shot

3.) 6 months after Second Shot

The shots I bet are a little pricy in Thailand but I highly recommend them.

[BlackJack]

China has developed and is now marketing full body condom

guaranteed to provide protection against SARS AIDS Chicken virus Influenza colds Hep A - X

Anyone interested in importing and being Thai Sales agent should ontact me immediately

[buadhai]

It's clearly wise to be vaccinated for Hep A and B if you live here or spend time here. The Hep B vaccine is expensive and takes some time, but, given the consequences, well worth it.

I just moved from Saipan where Hep A is endemic. Every child there must be vaccinated before they are admitted to school.

No matter how careful you are, it just takes on slip up in the food and or drink chain to pass along the infection.

(Of course, this coming from the man who ignored all advice about going to the doctor with a suspected case of Dengue Fever....)

[Thetyim]

China has developed and is now marketing full body condom

guaranteed to provide protection against SARS AIDS Chicken virus Influenza colds Hep A - X

Anyone interested in importing and being Thai Sales agent should ontact me immediately

I heard that you get one free with every Segway.

Makes you immune to jokes and abuse

[Crushdepth]

CHIANG RAI: -- Public-health officials yesterday added chlorine to water sources in Wiang Pa Pao and Mae Suay districts in an effort to contain the spread of hepatitis A.

I guess having drinking chlorine along with shit is better than not, but personally I'd rather they just took the shit out...

Edited May 26, 2005 by Crushdepth

[sriracha john]

I'v often wondered if there are regulations reguarding the production of ice and 'distilation' [?] of water, but can't live without either and just take my chances and haven't had a problem [knock on wood] in the 7 years that i've lived here. 

and something that i've always wondered about is if the ice is clean, but comes in contact with something contaminated in the cooler, then you use the ice for drinking.....can the contaminate be passed with the ice even if it is rinsed?? 

just wondering??/

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It certainly can be transferred, with rinsing only marginally effective at reducing the risk. Something to consider when encountering one of those old, worn out ice buckets that so many restaurants or bars provide.

[thymode91]

Freeze on ice production after hepatitis outbreak

Hepatitis A, spread through the consumption of contaminated food or water, causes jaundice for a couple of weeks, but normally clears up of its own accord.

--TNA 2005-05-25

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't listen to this man.

I've had Hep A.

It lasted for months and nearly killed me.

It does not clear itself up.

Do I use ice ? NO.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yap, you don't use ice but how about the water nor the food? its doesn't matter but "George" post is just friendly reminder.

[Jeff Jarvis]

"I heard that you get one free with every Segway."

Did sombody mention Segway?.....

Great marketing idea, since the Segway attracts chicks better than a puppy.

[sriracha john]

"I heard that you get one free with every Segway."

Did sombody mention Segway?.....

Great marketing idea, since the Segway attracts chicks better than a puppy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thread:  The Segway, ...has invaded Thailand

george  Today, 2005-05-26 06:36:06 Post #70 

Thread closed and member warned.

Reason: Spam

/Admin

Hmmm... some people don't heed warnings very well, Jeff?

[bina]

we were a pilate project in 1989+ for hep A immune testing and follow up with vaccines. since til then, anyone who'd been in the israeli army was exposed and had had hep a! (living conditions sanitation etc, army field style).... most adults showed the immune traces in blood; also most people said that they just felt like a very very bad flue....

now all kids are vaccinated at birth; i'm surprised that thai people , especially upcountry, are not mostly immune from having 'easy' cases? considering the way i saw people washing dishes etc in schools (children washing pots etc by hand in same bucket with soap and rinsed)....

and hep a is really easy to get also, not just ice, but almost anything any food vendor touches if the food vendor has it ,( once had it does not make u carrier like other heps.), or family member, when preparing food, etc...

for the worried tourist, a gamma globulin shot is good temporary protection... i've twice started the toher three hep shots but each time didnt do the last one

[peder.klockmann]

Hmmm... some people don't heed warnings very well, Jeff?

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

LOL Guess not

[jmac]

My TGF sells ice in LOS. From what I see at the ice plant, stick to ice cubes. Do not use crushed ice. It is usually made from block ice and is much cheaper. It is only meant to keep wrapped food cool. Here it is made in a different plant than cubes and the water (city) is not treated as well, plus there is more handling. Cubes are much safer.

[JML]

Speaking of crushed ice ... this might affect some of you more than others ...

How many of you eat fruit from the street vendors? I know I do, it consists of about 15%+ of my daily diet.

How do they keep the pineapple cold? As well as some of those other fruits they don't peel? Yep, crushed ice. If there are traces of feces on that ice ...

My Hep A shot theoretically ran out 6 months ago (I only got the first of the series ... the second should be applied 6 months after the first for a "lifetime" immunity, the first, unsupplemented by the second shot, is only supposed to be good for 2 years if I remember correctly) ... I will be heading to my local clinic to get another one today. Not sure about the prices here in BKK, but when I was living down south it was 1000 baht. The best money I will spend this month, for sure.

[raybkk]

My TGF sells ice in LOS. From what I see at the ice plant, stick to ice cubes. Do not use crushed ice. It is usually made from block ice and is much cheaper. It is only meant to keep wrapped food cool. Here it is made in a different plant than cubes and the water (city) is not treated as well, plus there is more handling. Cubes are much safer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep! The same as the laundry and coffee shop on Suk 23. The have this blue box filled with crushed ice to keep cans cold. However if someone wants an ice coffee that same ice that cools the Cans and the bottles will be used! I have wondered many times weather or not that is healthy?! Well the laundy is good.

[Scott]

I don't know if there is much that one can really do about the hygiene--except immunization. A group of about 20 employees I worked with went out to a nice place (outdoors, not fancy) and everyone got quite sick. Some people only drank water (with ice), some soda or beer. Some drank nothing and only ate food.

The place was apparently terribly contaminated, right down to the water that the dishes were washed in. Anybody that ate or drank anything got sick. Several people were sick for over a week.

We called the health officials to have them do something. It wasn't that we wanted the place to get into trouble, but to find out what it was and get it cleaned up. The Thai staff wouldn't talk to the owner--and we didn't have anyone who could properly explain to him.

The health officials told us we had to all write a complaint report and submit it with a doctor's certificate stating where, how and we got. We tried to tell them we didn't want to take "action" against the place--just help them get it cleaned up, because we had people who were quite sick. They refused to do anything.

The sad part was that it was a nice restaurant/bar, with an open kitchen area and was quite neat and clean. It was not a dingy, run down place.

Of course, we stopped frequenting the place, but mostly were disappointed with the health officials reaction.

Fortunately, I didn't get very sick, just a bit of the runs and it cleared up in a week or so. People need to realize how serious this stuff is.

Think of all the HIV+ people with impaired immunity (who may not know they are +), when they get Hep A, or some of these infections they are gonners.

Now, I try to be careful, but it's difficult.

[Ajarn]

It ain't the ice to blame, it's the water. Pouring Thai water into your glass minus the ice won't save you from anything. just maybe gives you slightly better odds, I'd say

There have been a number of reports of coliform in water samples at such facories in the last few years. I remember an article in the post saying that of the water factories in Bkk, something like 40% passed health standards... Of course, no mention of names...

No full-time inspectors monitoring, only waiting for enough complaints/deaths to start looking for resolvement...

When I lived along the Kapuas river in Borneo, plywood factories were a big business. Highly toxic organic Dioxins are expelled into the river in large quantities by these factories. All the local drinking water comes directly from that river. No inspectors. No education for the public, either.