As Floods Recede, Disease Breaks Out In Thai South

[webfact]

As floods recede, disease breaks out in South

By THE NATION

Illness - mostly from respiratory problems - has struck more than 20,000 residents in flooded provinces in the South. They are seeking or receiving treatment at government clinics, hospitals, or from mobile medical units, Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday.

Mobile medical units had made 667 visits to 18,378 patients seeking treatment for respiratory problems (60 per cent), foot rashes and diseases (23 per cent), and skin rashes (5 per cent).

Sixty-nine patients needed psychiatric counselling, with seven suffering deep depression due to relatives killed in the flooding and to property damage and losses.

Quoting the latest update yesterday by the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand, Jurin said 45 people had been killed in the flooding in the South- 19 in the hardest-hit Nakhon Si Thammarat, 10 in Surat Thani, nine in Krabi, three in Phatthalung, two each in Trang and Chumphon.

A total of 30,000 sets of medicine for foot rashes will be distributed today in Surat Thani.

Around 250 government health clinics and stations in the South have been flooded. The heavily-flooded Tha Sala hospital in Nakhon Si Thammarat resumes its services tomorrow.

Helicopter airlifts took 15 patients in serious condition to new hospitals with better equipment.

Permanent secretary Dr Phaijit Warachit paid visits to hospitals in the province and Surat Thani, saying that those located in Nopphitham district were still heavily flooded and mobile medical units were substituting for them. He said there was no shortage of medication for those requiring constant dosages.

The director of a ministry ad-hoc flood relief centre, Dr Narong Sahamethaphat, said no new injuries had been reported following the fatal landslide in Krabi. All 15 survivors remain under hospital treatment with no infection reported.

Two medical teams, with psychiatrists attached, are providing services at Wat Tham Kob and Wat Thep Phanom school where shelters were set up housing for 150 survivors.

-- The Nation 2011-04-04

[londonthai]

what disease is it?

[sbk]

Illness - mostly from respiratory problems

not specified in the article, but I can imagine that in addition its the usual things like dysentery, diarrhea from unclean water and food etc

[cdnvic]

Next person to allude that they had it coming to them is going away for a long time. What an ignorant thing to say.(Post & replies deleted)

[robblok]

This seems to be a yearly event, isnt it possible to enforce strickt building rules and get some funds for dykes and stuff. I know its an utterly corrupt country where most government officials only look out for themselves. But the people must realize that this will happen all the time if nothing is done about it and people are allowed to build everywhere.

[geriatrickid]

I'm really proud of those medical teams. They are keeping a catastrophic health crisis at bay. If one compares to smaller events in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Haiti; diarrhea and related GI illnesses, cholera and nasty viral illnesses would be killing hundreds if not thousands.

Keep in mind that the Thais are doing it on their own; As of April 1 -The Thai Red Cross Society (TRC) with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), has determined that external assistance is not required, and is therefore not seeking funding or other assistance from donors at this time.

This is one of those situations where Thailand is a victim of its own success at handling this type of catastrophe, not that Thailand needs this type of success. The importance of the response will be realized when the nation does not have a resultant epidemic of contagious disease.

The work done keeps us all safe and I hope people keep this in mind when some criticism of the efforts arise. The working conditions are nasty and many of the Thai field teams' western health provider counterparts would wilt under similar conditions.

i just wish news reports would put a face on the field teams. If TVFers knew some more about them, maybe they'd stop with the they want to kill us or rip us off conspiracies.

[SICHONSTEVE]

This seems to be a yearly event, isnt it possible to enforce strickt building rules and get some funds for dykes and stuff. I know its an utterly corrupt country where most government officials only look out for themselves. But the people must realize that this will happen all the time if nothing is done about it and people are allowed to build everywhere.

No!!! If only it was as simple as this, but unless you understand the land layout and pockets of poverty that exist in some areas within the affected provinces you cannot appreciate what factors are involved.

This is the second 'extreme' flood to have hit us (my wife and I live in Sichon, Nakhonsithammarat) in a few months and if anything, this second one has had a more damaging and devastating affect than the first one. What is surprising is that whilst the first of the two floods hit in the rainy season, this latest abysmal weather hit us with unremitting vengeance, delivering continuous and torrential rain for 5-6 days in the so-called dry season - in fact in what is supposed to be the HOTTEST and maybe DRIEST month of the year in Southern Thailand!!!

Many people died simply through living too close to unstable mountains (landslides) or rivers that were simply incapable of taking on board such a huge deluge of water in such a short time (drownings and houses washed away in the (flash) flood waters).

There is one noticeable aspect that seems largely to have determined whether people were going to find their houses either submerged beneath murky water or escape largely unscathed and that is whether their house was built on raised land, or as the land lies, so often in a severe dip or depression. Many people badly affected are basically poor with their houses built in the dips as they couldn't afford to buy the soil to raise the foundation level to above the level of the flooding. This is compounded by the substandard build-materials that were used (again, on account of cost) to construct their living quarters - they cannot be described as houses in many cases due to their ramshackle appearance and inadequate functionality.

Although government corruption may play a part some cases in places like Bangkok and in major citys this DOES NOT REALLY APPLY in the rural areas and your suggestion of "building dykes and stuff" is irrelevent to matters in the general scheme of things, as is the enforcing of stricter building rules. On this latter point, you would understand a bit more if you were to see the affected houses for yourself!! I doubt very much whether a high majority of those people have heard of or realise that building regulations exist let alone them being prepared to abide by them in any way shape or form after having been informed of their existence!!!

I should emphasise that this is solely down to "the forces of nature" and not in any way connected to corruption or fraud as you imply in your posting..

[rafish]

what disease is it?

30,000 cases of Foot rash apparently? Oh yes, also 20,000 cases of respiratory disease. Of course with the amounts of "human waste," floating around we can look forward to some very interesting long term diseases like desintary or meningitis. Not to worry the Thai health squad will stay and support all its citizens. Just guessing you know.:jap:

[webfact]

Southern flood victims in stress and depression

BANGKOK, 4 April 2011 (NNT) – The Ministry of Public Health is providing full medical care both in physical and mental health, for southern flood victims after many of them are found to experience flood related diseases and severe stress.

Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit reported that there were 18,378 patients receiving medical treatment from mobile units sent to take care of southern flood victims from 26 March to 2 April 2011. Most of them had respiratory diseases, tinea pedis and rashes.

As for mental health problems, there were 69 patients seeking consultations with 15 cases in high stress and seven cases in depression. Causes of the mental health attack were varied ranging from the changing living conditions to losses of property and loved ones during the major flood and landslide.

According to the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand, the death toll currently stands at 45 with one person missing. Nakhon Si Thammarat has the highest number of deaths with 19 cases, followed by Surat Thani, Krabi and Phatthalung with ten, nine and three cases respectively. Trang and Chumphon have two cases each.

Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health Medical Doctor Narong Sahamaethapat stated that two mobile medical units have been dispatched to major evacuation spots, together with 150 personnel at Tham Kop Monastery and 100 personnel at Wat Thep Phanom School in Krabi.

-- NNT 2011-04-04