Dengue fever situation expected to worsen this year


File photo, source: Wikipedia.org

BANGKOK, 26 February 2013 (NNT) - The Department of Disease Control is worried about the dengue fever situation this year after over 5,000 people have been ill from the disease, increasing from last year by five times. Without prevention, the department fears that the number of patients would reach 100,000.

Director-General of the Department of Disease Control MD Pornthep Siriwanarangsan said from 1 January 2013 until now, there had been around 5,700 dengue fever patients with four fatalities.

The rising number of patients before the disease’s spreading period in the rainy season is a sign that this year’s dengue fever situation might be severe, with a projected number of patients of 100,000.

The department therefore joins forces with public health offices nationwide to prevent a dengue fever outbreak before the rainy season by encouraging communities to destroy mosquito larvae and breeding grounds.

The Ministry of Public Health has already set up a dengue fever war room to impose preventive measures and follow up on dengue fever prevention efforts in each area on a weekly basis.


-- NNT 2013-02-26

I have had it twice in the last 3 years in Chiang Mai. How much worse can it get ??

They used to come around every year with foggers and kill the mosquitoes but it stopped about four years ago. I suppose the local kamnan decided he had a better use for the funds. Interestingly enough he is a local farmer and he just finished building a 6 million baht house. I need to take up farming.

We are overwhelmed with mossies this year. If the tessabans don't fog them all at once, pest control is pointless.

Yeah guys. The mossy situation has been very bad since mid last year. Fog them you say ?? It doesn't seem to have any effect on them. Except for maybe just pissing them off even more.

I see that even northern Australia is having an outbreak of the disease which I believe is quite rare for the area.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/2013/02/26/18/02/dengue-stops-blood-flow-in-far-north-qld

Funny, not really, that Phuket officials just denied that there was any Dengue outbreak that had been reported to a local news source. See thread here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/621712-phuket-officials-squelch-dengue-fever-rumors/

74,250 people were infected with dengue in Thailand – 79 fatally – last year, representing a proportion of 116 patients in 100,000 people.

http://www.thailand-business-news.com/health/43773-70000-cases-of-dengue-fever-in-thailand#.USynmzD_mSo

A simple natural cure is papaya leaves crushed and juiced. Tastes horrible but they work. Juice the leaves and take for a week - all gone.

Who told you? Any more details about this "miraculous" medicine? Is not Dengue gone after a week even without taking anything?

Who told you? Any more details about this "miraculous" medicine? Is not Dengue gone after a week even without taking anything?

According to this article from the OZ government there are four types of dengue fever and it can be life threatening.

http://www.health.qld.gov.au/dengue/info/definition.asp

A simple natural cure is papaya leaves crushed and juiced. Tastes horrible but they work. Juice the leaves and take for a week - all gone.

Please explain more

We are overwhelmed with mossies this year. If the tessabans don't fog them all at once, pest control is pointless.

Our local Teseban came and fogged our estate (Bang Saray) yesterday. A number of residents declined the service as they had DOGS! This rendered the whole exercise rather pointless. Do dogs get Dengue?

Today there is a solution.

http://www.ted.com/talks/hadyn_parry_re_engineering_mosquitos_to_fight_disease.html

Good info,

Thanks for the heads up on the issue.

I have had it twice in the last 3 years in Chiang Mai. How much worse can it get ??

there are 4 strains and it is suggested that it gets worse each time - so be careful.

A simple natural cure is papaya leaves crushed and juiced. Tastes horrible but they work. Juice the leaves and take for a week - all gone.

Please explain more

Nonsense?

Gm is not a "final solution" - it can be used to reduce populations in areas for a period of time.

The Thai government favours chemical methods which has all sorts of concomitant problems such as side effets and gradual restistance by mozzies.

also as a bio-mass, mozzies are n essential part of the eco-system

Although GM is not a "final solution" it will prevent thousands of people from getting sick.

Although GM is not a "final solution" it will prevent thousands of people from getting sick.

probably - have you read any trials?

THe fight against Mozzies has to be multi-faceted, and often the simple lo-tech solutions such as education and mozzie nets are overlooked. i even read of a system for spraying ponds with an egg powder - this changes the surface tension characteristics and prevents the larvae from hatching out from the water. It is of course bio-degradable and ion toxic.

The problem with GM is that as soon as you raise the spectre of anything genetically modified being released uncontrolled into the environment then you have an immediate public outcry. There have been suggestions that these modified genes have been found to linger on in the mozzie population despite the claims that they are programmed to die out.

The cost - to society the nation and family, the amount of man-hours etc lost through poor public health is a topic that the Thai authorities seem in general to e oblivious to......road safety , Dengue and many other sources are put on the back-burner here largely it would seem due to ignorance in the corridors of power.

I was at Wat Prasing,Chiang Mai,yesterday when they " fogged "the area heavily without warning.

I moved away as quickly as possible,but after a few minutes my eyes started to blur and I was overcome by dizziness. I managed to find a low wall to lean againt otherwise I would have fallen to the ground. I then headed for the exit, after recovering slightly, then got away from the smoke completely and I have now recovered and I feel fine.

Is the smoke bad for humans as well as for Mosquitos! Has anyone else been affected like this?

Although GM is not a "final solution" it will prevent thousands of people from getting sick.

probably - have you read any trials?

THe fight against Mozzies has to be multi-faceted, and often the simple lo-tech solutions such as education and mozzie nets are overlooked. i even read of a system for spraying ponds with an egg powder - this changes the surface tension characteristics and prevents the larvae from hatching out from the water. It is of course bio-degradable and ion toxic.

The problem with GM is that as soon as you raise the spectre of anything genetically modified being released uncontrolled into the environment then you have an immediate public outcry. There have been suggestions that these modified genes have been found to linger on in the mozzie population despite the claims that they are programmed to die out.

The cost - to society the nation and family, the amount of man-hours etc lost through poor public health is a topic that the Thai authorities seem in general to e oblivious to......road safety , Dengue and many other sources are put on the back-burner here largely it would seem due to ignorance in the corridors of power.

Genetic elimination of dengue vector mosquitoes.

http://www.pnas.org/content/108/12/4772.full.pdf+html

We are overwhelmed with mossies this year. If the tessabans don't fog them all at once, pest control is pointless.

I'm sorry top say, but that's not the way to do it. They need to control/ remove the breading grounds i.e stagnant water.

I have had it twice in the last 3 years in Chiang Mai. How much worse can it get ??

there are 4 strains and it is suggested that it gets worse each time - so be careful.

Yes, it's increased risk of complication with a further infection.

A serious dengue problem coupd wipe out tourism in some regions. People don't pay much attention to tuk tuk and jetski scams and the like because they figure if they avoid the touts they are immune. Disease is something very different and nothing can cause panic quite like a serious or deadly disease. Remember the panic that set in after the avian and swine flu cirses in the past years? Bookings from some of the developed asian countries vaporized. It is no wonder that Phuket's officials will do their utmost to make sure that the concern is muted.

This year is bad. Remember the rule of thumb in public health: For every case reported, many more go unreported. This is one of those times I wish the Thai officals published the locations where cases were reported on a weekly basis. When there was a serious flu outbreak in the USA 2 years ago, the CDC was providing daily updates and they were put onto a google map to show the hot spots and where the disease was at its worst.

I was at Wat Prasing,Chiang Mai,yesterday when they " fogged "the area heavily without warning.

I moved away as quickly as possible,but after a few minutes my eyes started to blur and I was overcome by dizziness. I managed to find a low wall to lean againt otherwise I would have fallen to the ground. I then headed for the exit, after recovering slightly, then got away from the smoke completely and I have now recovered and I feel fine.

Is the smoke bad for humans as well as for Mosquitos! Has anyone else been affected like this?

Presumably you didn't notice the person doing the spraying NOT wearing his protective mask???

Although GM is not a "final solution" it will prevent thousands of people from getting sick.

probably - have you read any trials?

THe fight against Mozzies has to be multi-faceted, and often the simple lo-tech solutions such as education and mozzie nets are overlooked. i even read of a system for spraying ponds with an egg powder - this changes the surface tension characteristics and prevents the larvae from hatching out from the water. It is of course bio-degradable and ion toxic.

The problem with GM is that as soon as you raise the spectre of anything genetically modified being released uncontrolled into the environment then you have an immediate public outcry. There have been suggestions that these modified genes have been found to linger on in the mozzie population despite the claims that they are programmed to die out.

The cost - to society the nation and family, the amount of man-hours etc lost through poor public health is a topic that the Thai authorities seem in general to e oblivious to......road safety , Dengue and many other sources are put on the back-burner here largely it would seem due to ignorance in the corridors of power.

Genetic elimination of dengue vector mosquitoes.

http://www.pnas.org/content/108/12/4772.full.pdf+html

As I said earlier this document does not refer to the problem of the genes lingering on.

It was not just one person doing the spraying.The fog was belching out of the back of a lorry and engulfing the whole area like a tidal wave. Tourists should be made aware.Maybe,the monks forgot to pass the message on.

Also, if Buddists(who I love) are against killing all living things, why do they agree to kill the mosquito?

As a Chistian I would like to see all mosquitos wiped off the face of the earth even though they are only"carriers".

is it "Permethrin"?....or DDT even?

is it "Permethrin"?....or DDT even?

If it is DDT they are dead mosquitoes for sure. When I was a boy they would come around every spring and spray inside the house with DDT. No mosquitoes, flies or any other bugs for two months. Then they had to go and ban it.

We are overwhelmed with mossies this year. If the tessabans don't fog them all at once, pest control is pointless.

I'm sorry top say, but that's not the way to do it. They need to control/ remove the breading grounds i.e stagnant water.

THe Aedes mozzie wil breed in still or slow moving water......it only needs a tiny amount, an old car tyre or upturned flowerpot is sufficient.

As IU said before it is not a matter of one solution fits all....there needs to be increased public awareness and a raft of preventative measures - mossie nets are extremely effective when treated.

Dengue is spread by the mosquito who first has to bite an infected person and then transmit the virus to another. As the animal has only a limited life span and flight range, this is obviously easier in a population that is densely packed.

Only the female bites for blood and then only once or twice every 24 hours or so.......so breaking this chain can be an effective way to stop the spread of the disease.