Dengue And Cholera Outbreaks In Thailand Bring Warnings After 30 Die

[jackr]

hey any of you guys knows the signs/symptoms? thanks

Death.

[srisatch]

H Pylori is here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicobacter_pylori

Thread raises interesting aspects of life and health in LOS

Thais I know in the UK think some of our habits very unhygienic..shoes in house, picking noses etc

In Thailand I have been puzzled by the general lack of disease spread from communal eating and drinking habits and from apparently highly unsanitary management of meat etc in markets, shared eating and drinking utensils, consumption of pesticide doused insects,, rice field rats etc. One view is that Thais have immunity to many bacterial infections westerners are susceptible to, another that the methods of rearing animals..pigs and chickens in LOS.. mean they have less bacterial infections than western factory raised creatures soused with antibiotics. Absence of listeria/salmonell outbreaks in LOS interesting? Cholera is primarily a consequence of contact with water infected with faeces, dengue/haemorraghic fever is mosquito borne....but both a consequence of poor household and municipal sanitary/protective measures. In Sukothai there is a ruthless program of eliminating stagnant water in gardens..much bemoaned by fish lovers and a program of spraying drains..elsewhere??

Edited June 29, 2010 by srisatch

[Jimi007]

Seems like a lot of people on this thread need formatting help. It's rather hard to read. Try using preview, it's next to the post button.

Also much about Cholera, which seems much easier to prevent then Dengue is. I've had another tropic disease, bourn by the same exact type of mosquito; the Aedes mosquito. It's called Chikungunya and has very similar symptoms. For the Aussie's it's a lot like Ross River Fever, I hear, although I'm not an Aussie. It's lasted almost a year now, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. There is no vaccine for Dengue and there are four strains of it. If you catch one you are not immune from the others. At least there's only one strain of Chikungunya and I'm supposed to be immune to it now. There is also no vaccine for Chikungunya. But developing a vaccine for either one, isn't in the near term as it only affects nations which aren't in the business of developing vaccines or protecting their citizens and visitors from these killer diseases. By the way the Andes mosquito is a day biter... Just my 2 satang...

[chmiroau]

<br>

<br>The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using <u><i>a middle spoon</i></u> and washing hands frequently.<br><br>I presume that means a METAL spoon <img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt=""><br>

<br><br><br>Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.<br><br>The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!<br>

<br><br>Um, dont hold back your opinion there mate, please feel free to have a quick look at some medical statistics and I am sure that you will find that such a simple thing as sharing a spoon to serve, share food, is no better or worse than kissing that girl you met at the party. How many times have you done that I wonder....

[vahack]

whats H-pylora?

I think that is that bit of flesh between a womans vagina and her arse..............

thats called the taint.

hey any of you guys knows the signs/symptoms? thanks

Cholera

Dengue Fever

gracias. in the civilized world they add a list of symptoms to watch for when they put out a nationwide health bulletin. i dont think this bulletin was done for the benefit of Thai peasants. its unlikely the hi-so gang is affected. most likely this is for export/trade reassurance.

[djayz]

<br>

<br>The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using <u><i>a middle spoon</i></u> and washing hands frequently.<br><br>I presume that means a METAL spoon <img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt=""><br>

<br><br><br>Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.<br><br>The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!<br>

<br><br>Um, dont hold back your opinion there mate, please feel free to have a quick look at some medical statistics and I am sure that you will find that such a simple thing as sharing a spoon to serve, share food, is no better or worse than kissing that girl you met at the party. How many times have you done that I wonder....

Dar_n! You beat me to it... well said mate!

Some people just love to rant on about something they have no clue about...

[Jimi007]

Using a separate serving spoon in all collective dishes is an excellent way of preventing desease transmition from an infected person to all of the other diners , I passed this information along to my extended family . The other thing of course is to ensure hand washing before eating , especially with children , one more thing , washing flip-flops is VERY important as they are recorded as carrying the most bacteria of all , look where people walk with them . When they are 'Flipped off at the entrance' other footwear should be provided if you have small children , the bacteria they carry is transmitted to the foot , deposited across the floor and thence to a small childs mouth playing on the contaminated floor . Walls and floors should be washed with clorinated , soapy water on a regular basis also to kill off even more possible bacteria , pay attention to door handles , the PC key-board is also notorious for the germs it carries .

Better yet, never leave the house, put on a space suit, avoid contact with any people or animals and grow your own food in a closed environment. Or am I overreacting a little bit?

Your response is not funny , why do you think so many villagers get sick and the death toll for under fives is so high ? Hygene is NOT a high point in many Thai lives , just check out what I have suggested , it is health and lives being discussed , not the latest Thai tv comedy show .

Now is that so hard to do? It just gets very tiresome trying to see who said what if you don't format the quotes.... Is there a browser issue or what? I'm just saying? What's up with all the quote problems on this thread?

[moskito]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using a middle spoon and washing hands frequently.

I presume that means a METAL spoon

Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.

The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!

True, but thats how they learn it from kids age on.

Nobody ever told them something about hygiene, not their parents and for sure not in shools.

Thais are using soap for taking a shower, but normally never if they wash their hands (if they do anyway) or for cleaning dishes.

I blame it on shools and governments education for their ppl.

But since when there is CHOLERA back again? thought it is history.

But anyway, cant remember how many times I crossed a garbage bin with

death animals inside or seeing cats and dogs dead on the street for DAYS before somebody clean that mess.....Flys sitting on death animals,

after they sit on your noodles BON APPETIT :jap:

[travelinthai]

Using a separate serving spoon in all collective dishes is an excellent way of preventing desease transmition from an infected person to all of the other diners , I passed this information along to my extended family . The other thing of course is to ensure hand washing before eating , especially with children , one more thing , washing flip-flops is VERY important as they are recorded as carrying the most bacteria of all , look where people walk with them . When they are 'Flipped off at the entrance' other footwear should be provided if you have small children , the bacteria they carry is transmitted to the foot , deposited across the floor and thence to a small childs mouth playing on the contaminated floor . Walls and floors should be washed with clorinated , soapy water on a regular basis also to kill off even more possible bacteria , pay attention to door handles , the PC key-board is also notorious for the germs it carries .

Better yet, never leave the house, put on a space suit, avoid contact with any people or animals and grow your own food in a closed environment. Or am I overreacting a little bit?

yes you are overreacting. It's nice to get some good advice, and it doesn't sound like he is saying anything like you refer to. Amazing how you jump to that conclusion.

[ryladie99]

<br>The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using <u><i>a middle spoon</i></u> and washing hands frequently.<br><br>I presume that means a METAL spoon <img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt=""><br>

<br><br>Good post and tell everyone to watch his or her hands every time after using the restroom...<br>Hot food and Middle spoon are the main problem and it is about time for Common Sense.<br>My opinion...Hope everyone is safe and healthy...<br>

[Jimi007]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using middle spoon and washing hands frequently. I presume that means a METAL spoon

Good post and tell everyone to watch his or her hands every time after using the restroom...Hot food and Middle spoon are the main problem and it is about time for Common Sense.My opinion...Hope everyone is safe and healthy...

URG!!!!!!! What's up with this? What browser are you using? Is this formatting issue just on this thread? Or is it the users on this thread? Please use POST PREVIEW... Sorry I'm off topic but it's annoying! Hum, I just had the same thing happen when using the full edit function... Easy fix though. But maybe the admins should check out what's up??

Back on topic; Cholera is from bacteria from feces. Washing your hands and dishes with clean water and soap, hot water is better, as well as drinking bottled water, can prevent this disease. Or boil water as that will kill bacteria as well. Also chlorine bleach can sanitize water... It can be much more easily prevented, compared to Dengue...

Edit: for added comment...

Edited June 29, 2010 by Jimi007

[techboy]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using a middle spoon and washing hands frequently.

I presume that means a METAL spoon

Jeeze you're smart.

[MaiThaiMai]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using a middle spoon and washing hands frequently.

I presume that means a METAL spoon

Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.

The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!

Well dipping your wick is even more disgusted, look where thats been

and btw the most bacterial place on your body (not mine) is your mouth, huge hoard of microbial activity and then you engage in spit swapping with another mouth and you dont know what thats been on yuk

Toilet door handles, bannister rails on escalators in big C

just because Im paranoid doesnt mean Im not sick

Just because I'm sick doesn't mean I'm twisted . . . What if there are 5 dishes and 4 spoons? Which is the middle spoon then? I'm so confused ...

MaiThaiMai

:jap: :jap:

[MaiThaiMai]

Common sense wash hands before and after keep one's hands out of other's food ...

Now where's my favorite little food cart guy with them crunchy chicken-flavored bugs bigger'n my thumbs ...

I take it that dengue is only spread by mossies or has that now changed? Using a separate spoon to serve food is a must! Fingers are not acceptable! lol  But only controllable in your own house....If you've ever heard of H-pylora then you don't want it so don't share spoons with others including your kids as if you have it you can pass it on to them....It causes stomach ulcers and cancer...My parents both had it and when I had gassy stomach etc I got checked back in the UK. was glad that was the only problem and cleared it up with strong anti biotics......<br>

whats H-pylora?

I think that is that bit of flesh between a womans vagina and her arse..............

Tain't funny ..besides it's OT [Off-Toxic] ...

MaiThaiMai

:jap: :jap:

[tgw]

I take it that dengue is only spread by mossies or has that now changed? Using a separate spoon to serve food is a must! Fingers are not acceptable! lol  But only controllable in your own house....If you've ever heard of H-pylora then you don't want it so don't share spoons with others including your kids as if you have it you can pass it on to them....It causes stomach ulcers and cancer...My parents both had it and when I had gassy stomach etc I got checked back in the UK. was glad that was the only problem and cleared it up with strong anti biotics......<br>

whats H-pylora?

helicobacter pylori (I guessed the spelling)

avoiding sharing the spoon is unlikely to prevent spreading, since it is not at all clear that it spreads through saliva.

my money's on feces.

Edited June 29, 2010 by tgw

[SomTumTiger]

Report today that Hun Sen has swine flu. Karma works in mysterious ways I see :rolleyes:

[prighas]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using a middle spoon and washing hands frequently.

I presume that means a METAL spoon

Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.

The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!

Is that a 'Thai' habit?

Everyone I know here in Thailand, friends and family, all use a separate serving spoon for each dish.

Everyone I know here in Thailand, friends and colleagues, use their own spoon and dip into shared dishes.

[PEP]

I take it that dengue is only spread by mossies or has that now changed? Using a separate spoon to serve food is a must! Fingers are not acceptable! lol  But only controllable in your own house....If you've ever heard of H-pylora then you don't want it so don't share spoons with others including your kids as if you have it you can pass it on to them....It causes stomach ulcers and cancer...My parents both had it and when I had gassy stomach etc I got checked back in the UK. was glad that was the only problem and cleared it up with strong anti biotics......<br>

whats H-pylora?

Alant. Perhaps "David Wright" is reffering to HELICOBACTER. Have a look at http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/helicobacter

[Trapper]

My wife and I are just getting over a bout of Dengue for the second time in a year.

We are on Koh Samui and there are a couple of other people I know who also have it.

Looks like it is going to be a bad year for Dengue on the islands.

[Nikkisixx]

thais do not use middle spoon, rather disguesting to eat other people's saliva...

THAIBKK, where are you coming from?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are refering to THAIBKK;s say, that thais dont use a middle spoon. I am surpriced that you

probably dont know yourself that almost the whole of Thailand is NOT using middle spoon or

other things to prevent sikness.

They have a common plate at the middle of the table and everybody use their fingers and eat without

any forks, knives or spoons.. the fingers goes into their mouths and than back again into the food at the

middle of the table. Of course this is not for ALL dishes, but for quite a few of them.

That is the reality here in Thailand. But maybe not in upper class in Bangkok, I dont know about that, but

here in Isaan at least, that is a fact. And that is what I at least have to fight against.

I have given up, and I am eating my own falang food instead and are trying to servive as long as possible.

Glegolo

My in laws have only just started eating off plates...

[Arkady]

Using a separate serving spoon in all collective dishes is an excellent way of preventing desease transmition from an infected person to all of the other diners , I passed this information along to my extended family . The other thing of course is to ensure hand washing before eating , especially with children , one more thing , washing flip-flops is VERY important as they are recorded as carrying the most bacteria of all , look where people walk with them . When they are 'Flipped off at the entrance' other footwear should be provided if you have small children , the bacteria they carry is transmitted to the foot , deposited across the floor and thence to a small childs mouth playing on the contaminated floor . Walls and floors should be washed with clorinated , soapy water on a regular basis also to kill off even more possible bacteria , pay attention to door handles , the PC key-board is also notorious for the germs it carries .

I think Thailand needs a more serious health epidemic to wean people off the habit of dipping their own spoons into the common dishes. I have tried many times to persuade people it is more healthy to use a "middle" spoon but even educated Thais think I am bonkers. I suppose it seems more intimate to swap spit with friends, family and colleagues. Even people with colds and sore throats seem quite happy to dip their spoons in, unless sternly rebuked.

In the early 80s I was warned to bring my own chopsticks to China because the plastic chopsticks provided in restaurants were too nausiating to contemplate putting in one's mouth. When I arrived there I was extremely glad I had my own chopsticks. The filthy looking greasy chopsticks in restaurants that the locals dipped in luke warm tea in the vain hope of sterilising them were indeed revolting. Finally the Chinese wised up to the fact that the habit of eating from insanitary chopsticks was a cause of cholera and the filthy implements largely disappeared to be replaced by disposable wooden chopsticks.

I wonder how many Thais need to die from totally preventable diseases until their unhygenic spoon dipping habit is eradicated.

[dasy]

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning to people to protect themselves from infection by eating cooked and hot food, using a middle spoon and washing hands frequently.

I presume that means a METAL spoon

Just noticed a large poster in Tesco Korat stating that a separate spoon should be used for serving food.

The Thai habit of everyone dipping their spoon into the main dish is &lt;deleted&gt; disgusting!

and you are very creative with the 4 letter word

[Tanaka]

Wash my hands? What next!

Brush your teeth?

[Vegemite]

Is that a 'Thai' habit?

Everyone I know here in Thailand, friends and family, all use a separate serving spoon for each dish.

Where I live 80% of Thais use their fingers and nothing else.

I never see them wash thrir hands first. The sticky rice sticks to all of their fingers and they pull the morsels off and eat them as well.

[KKK]

So we may be in for a Dengue epidemic....But what is the government doing about it? Issuing notices; but that won't stop it happening.I've seen no spraying to kill the Aedes Mossie for over two years in my area.I've trained all the mossies in my garden to go and bite the Mayor before they bite me.

And I think the only way Dengue could be communicable between humans is via blood transfussions.

Edited June 30, 2010 by KKK

[richardjm65]

This is a repeat of the post I made on 7 May 2010 - it might be of interest to someone who is sick with Dengue or knows someone else who is.

I believe that Dengue is thought to be incurable though not untreatable, and apart from the usual medications to reduce symptoms there seems to be little that can help. However, I've read recently that papaya leaves have been shown to be effective in treating the disease. For what it's worth, (and I have no proof of its effectiveness), you use 5 good size fresh, washed and clean papaya leaves, chopped fine, and boil those in an open pan with a couple of litres of water. Continue to boil until the liquid has reduced by half, allow to cool, transfer to glass bottles (not plastic) and chill in the 'fridge. Dosage is said to be 3 tablespoons, 3 times a day. The liquid comes out brown-ish in colour and is bitter to the taste. It is also thought to be helpful in the treatment of some forms of cancer, but I can't vouch for that either.

It would be interesting to get feedback from anyone who tries this, with their comments on whether or not it was beneficial in relieving or curing Dengue.

[witsawakorn]

Surely there must be some mistake - cholera only happens in third world countries.....

And where do the 274 infected migrant workers come from ? Europe?

[lounger]

Your response is not funny , why do you think so many villagers get sick and the death toll for under fives is so high ? Hygene is NOT a high point in many Thai lives , just check out what I have suggested , it is health and lives being discussed , not the latest Thai tv comedy show .

You ask : " why do you think many villagers get sick." Hygene has very little to do with it. Germ Tolerance is the main thing here and although consistent habits create germ tolerance inadequate diets do not. I suggest a family living on rice without fresh vegetables protein etc has very little germ tolerance. Fat healthy people who have so many meal dishes that they use middle spoons are the last people to need them (spoons) .

[sirchai]

Most probably means using a spoon placed in the main dish instead of everyone dipping their own spoon into the food.

It’s not about a spoon at all, the way they clean their dishes with cold water is a big problem. Even in good European hospitals are bacterially infected Emergency rooms they can’t get rid of.

Dengue fever was always here, sometimes at the East coast, the South the North, or in the Isan.

One type of Mosquitoes is watching you…….

Time to be careful, I’ve met a few guys who’ve got that here, stay healthy………………………

[moetownblues]

I went to a weekend function 2 weeks ago in Chia Nat my nephew (by marriage) was entering the monk hood. 100's from the village attending. Anyway returned to Chiangmai and the next day came down with a fever that knocked me flat for a few days. I evently ened up in the Chiangmai Ram Hospital on a drip and being pumped full of antibiotics for 4 days. They conducted tests for all tropical deseases known to man but could not come up with an answer.