Govt Insists Malaria Not Wide Spread

[george]

Govt insists malaria not wide spread

PHAYAO: -- Thailand’s health minsister Dr. Suchai Charoenratanakul has stressed that the outbreak of malaria in some southern provinces is under control and is not as wide spread as reported by the media.

The minister said the malaria outbreak in southern Thailand is under control and health officials have been sent to the region to educate local people in prevention measures.

“Thailand normally faces an outbreak of air-borne disease from time to time because it is a tropical country where outbreaks happen deep in the jungles and national parks,” said the minister.

Dr. Suchai said Thailand has led the fight against malaria. Mahidol University has been recognised in the region for its development of medical development.

The media should make sure that they only report factual information, he urged.

“Our provincial hospitals have capacity to cope with malaria patients and have maintained international standards. The media should be more careful in what they would say in their reports,’’ he said.

--TNA 2005-06-15

[sriracha john]

*sigh*... here we go again.

"under control", "not as wide spread as reported"...

All sounds amazingly like the reassurances, by Dr. Suchai's predecessor, after the FIRST outbreak of bird flu.

The media should make sure that they only report factual information, he urged. "The media should be more careful in what they would say in their reports’’

Specifically what has been erroneously reported, Dr.? I've not seen anything. Can you help us out?

I'm sorry if reporting the truth hurts yours or Thailand's reputation, but in issues of public health, is it possible, for once, to put actual concern for people's well-being above reputations?

[george]

Govt tries to allay public fears over malaria

CHIANG MAI: -- Thai government officials have tried to allay public fears over malaria, after a monkey was found infected with malaria.

“Malaria and air-borne diseases cannot be transmitted from monkeys to humans,” the Head of Thailand’s Department of Disease Control, Dr. Thawat Suntharajan told TNA on Wednesday.

The malaria outbreak is now under control and more than 650 rapid response mobile units have been deployed to provide blood tests and locate infected patients in border towns, he said.

“People who suspect they have been infected should seek free blood tests and treatment at one of the 302 air-borne disease control offices across the country,” said Dr. Thawat.

The disease will be eliminated within two months as health officials have sprayed chemicals in many communities at risk to kill the mosquitoes and prevent them breeding, he said.

“The malaria strain found in the infected monkey is one of the four common strains around the world. People need not panic or destroy the animals. You still can visit the zoo,” he said.

The best course of prevention is to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes.

“We could prevent and cure this disease. If you go into a jungle, use insect repellents, sleep inside a mosquito net and be well covered,” he said.

The malaria outbreak in Thailand is under control, Dr. Thawat insisted.

Air-borne diseases are common in May and June in areas along the Thai-Myanmar border and near Cambodia.

Almost 16,000 people have been infected with malaria since early this year. Nearly half of them were Thais.

About 300 million people around the world are infected by malaria every year. At least a million die from it. Ninety percent of malaria patients are in South Africa.

Dr. Thawat said Thailand was relatively safe as patients could easily be cured. Half of the patients in Thailand who die from the disease are migrant workers who only seek medical attention after its too late.

“Anyone developing a high fever and shivering within 10 to 14 days after a jungle trip, see medical attention. Never buy medicine without a doctor’s prescription as that could make the disease drug resistant,” he warned.

Dr. Thawat made his remarks in the northern town of Chiang Mai during a seminar on “Challenging Communicable Disease in 21st Century”.

--TNA 2005-06-15

[opothai]

The best course of prevention is to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes

i think he could be onto something

[mnoorsapl]

Any disease that can kill means it is dangerous. Malaria is a threat.

[Sphere]

The best course of prevention is to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes

i think he could be onto something

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is easy when you know that the infected ones are those that have a wicked look in their eyes.

[opothai]

The best course of prevention is to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes

i think he could be onto something

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is easy when you know that the infected ones are those that have a wicked look in their eyes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[george]

Mosquitoes rife despite eradication measures

BANGKOK: -- Despite heavy campaigns encouraging the public to help eradicate the source of dengue-carrying mosquitoes over recent weeks, mosquito larvae is still being found in up to 65 per cent of households around the nation.

These figures were revealed in a recent survey following weeks of campaigns aimed at fighting the dengue epidemic, which continues to take its toll on the public’s health.

Only 35 per cent of homes met the standards of dengue prevention measures issued by the World Health Organisation, said Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul.

The figures reflect a lack of cooperation from the public, he said, adding that the health authorities were doing all they could by culling the adult dengue-carrying mosquitoes with chemical sprays.

“Ninety-five per cent of the disease carriers come from sources inside houses such as flower jars and water containers,” he said.

He added that a mosquito can travel 50 to 100 metres, meaning that if one house manages to completely eradicate the disease carriers but the house next to it does not, the mosquitoes could still infect the community.

--The Nation 2005-06-18

[george]

Malaria persists in Chumphon

CHUMPHON: -- Malaria continues to plague Chumphon as health authorities have failed to reach the illegal Burmese workers who are believed to be the prime source of the epidemic.

There are quite a number of illegal alien workers in Chumphon, said Vithoon Nilaphak, who leads a disease control unit fighting malaria in Tha Sae district.

However, the illegal workers employers had told them to hide from the health authorities because of fears the workers could be held and their employers arrested, Vithoon said.

He said as a result his disease control team could not reach the workers and provide them with proper treatment and that the workers could continue to spread the disease to others, particularly as the number of mosquitoes carrying malaria is growing due to the monsoon.

In Baan Usan in Chumphon’s Tha Sae district, regarded as the worst hit malarial area, about 20 per cent of the 2,278 population has tested positive for the disease this year, said Nives Naluen, head of the Vector-born Disease Control Centre 14 in Chumphon.

All the province could do, he said, was send out a mobile unit to spray the province weekly and supply villagers with mosquito nets.

“We beg the employers of the illegal workers to get their workers registered with the labour authorities, otherwise the disease is going to hit the province even harder,” he said.

This month alone Chumphon has had 300 malaria cases compared to only about 200 in the same month last year, Nives said.

--The Nation 2005-06-20

[Sphere]

He added that a mosquito can travel 50 to 100 metres..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or even several hundred kilometers by train or plane...

[johna]

Last night I had to go to the local Wat for a funeral rites and was bitten so badly by mosquitos that I almost walked out before the monks had finised, my wife who is on the local health board tells me they are spraying insectiside but it does not seem to be very efective.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Luckily there's no bird flu in Thailand

[Sphere]

Luckily there's no bird flu in Thailand

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, wer'e resting assured since we barred entry to those burmese birds!