Thailand's Health Offices on MERS alert

[webfact]

Health offices on MERS alert



BANGKOK: -- All the country's 53 health offices are advised to be on alert and to watch out possible emergence of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus that might be carried by travelers from the Middle East and from Thai Hajj pilgrims.

The warning was raised at a meeting of health provincial office directors and tourism operators.

Deputy permanent secretary Wachira Pengchan of the Public Health Ministry warned of the risk of the possible outbreak of the deadly virus in the country because about 18,000 people from Middle East countries travel in the country and about 14,000 Thai Hajj pilgrims and other Thai tourists left for the Middle East region last month.

Directors of 53 health provincial offices were ordered to set up the disease surveillance system and monitor Thai pilgrims who had just returned from 14 days in the Middle East to see if they have contracted the disease.

Thai Hajj pilgrims traveled from 53 provinces where Muslims live, particularly in the South.

Earlier Dr Narong Sahametapat, permanent secretary for public health, said the ministry will provide flu vaccines to a group of Umrah pilgrims who could be at risk of getting the virus.

No case has been reported in Thailand so far, he said.

Ten cases of suspected MERS were reported last week in Pattani, Phetchaburi, Samut Prakan and Bangkok.

But lab tests found they did not contract MERS-CoV, even though they had returned from Middle East trips, he added.

Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said from September 2012 to April 26 this year, it has been informed of a total of 261 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 93 deaths.

MERS is viral respiratory illness first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. It is caused by a coronavirus called MERS-CoV.

Symptom of the MERS-CoV includes severe acute respiratory illness, fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/health-offices-mers-alert/


-- Thai PBS 2014-05-01

[wileycoyote]

Good to be vigilant

[keithet]

Now I have a medical reason to not like them.

[tomyummer]

Now I have a medical reason to not like them.

Omg your attitude!

Spot on.

[Rimbuman]

Worrisome stuff in this tropical climate.

[empireboy]

Keep your immune system in good shape

[trainman34014]

Don't panic; they will put Chalerm in charge and it will all be sorted in two weeks !

[Prbkk]

I don't know why the story mentions vaccinating because there is no vaccine to protect against MERS.

[Khunangkaro]

93 out of 261 confirmed cases = 35.6% funerals..... OMG! Allāhu Akbar.

[geoman1976]

Quick! Quarantine Suk Soi 3-1!!! Which sucks because one of my favorite restaurants is there ...Petras...aroy mak.

[Rimbuman]

These buggers look like their logo

[Rimbuman]

These buggers look like their logo

[marko kok prong]

stay away from soi 4 in sukmvhit,mate of mine said they were dropping like dead camels down there.

[sirchai]

Directors of 53 health provincial offices were ordered to set up the disease surveillance system and monitor Thai pilgrims who had just returned from 14 days in the Middle East to see if they have contracted the disease.

That's like telling my wife to save some money for my Lamborghini.

[sirchai]

stay away from soi 4 in sukmvhit,mate of mine said they were dropping like dead camels down there.

Do dead camels drop?

[Benmart]

Now I have a medical reason to not like them.

Bigotry needs no reason.

[tubby johnson]

MERS: It's the second-worst thing to ever have come out of Saudi Arabia.

[Thai at Heart]

These buggers look like their logo

It looks like a Heineken advert.

[Noi657]

Now I have a medical reason to not like them.

Priceless!

[Tom420]

Genuinely shocked at the racism and hate, then again it is TV... You should all feel bad

[cheshiremusicman]

Genuinely shocked at the racism and hate, then again it is TV... You should all feel bad

Doesn't that also apply to THEM ????

[TinoThailand]

Let's hype this up...

[manzan]

I don't know why the story mentions vaccinating because there is no vaccine to protect against MERS.

Interestingly, it is in the article because apparently the permanent secretary for public health has decided to vaccinate those at risk for a Corona Virus with a vaccine for Influenza. and somehow he thinks that is magically going to protect them for MERS, instead of wreaking havoc on the immune system to actually increase their chances of contracting MERS (if they have been exposed) and to lower their survival chances if they do contract it (as then the immune system will be overloaded)

If i had read this article about a year ago i would have been surprised by such a strange decision, unfortunately it appears that insanity is very common these days. Even when there are no vaccines for a specific risk what to do? take vaccines for something else ofcourse!

Another example is the CDC's warning for the emergence of the superbugs, there now are antibiotic resistant bacteria which are killing 19.000 people in the US yearly as well 19.000 in the EU. CDC's recommendation? take all your vacccines(an excessive number of them in the USA). No logic behind it, no science behind it, just a statement that makes no sense and does not apply to the risk that people are facing.

This risk of the superbugs is also created due to the current medical practice of overprescribing antibiotics. what really needs to be done to contain it? find new antibiotics would help! but what have the biggest pharmaceutical companies done? they have abandoned researching antibiotics as apparently the FDA's rules are so strict they consider it not viable anymore, meaning that humanity may return to the "pre-antibiotics" era, and that will change quite a lot i'm affraid. I recommend to build as strong an immune system as possible

[belg]

soon in a restaurant sitting next to you, coughin, sneazing and next ... it is you

[sirchai]

These buggers look like their logo

It looks like a Heineken advert.

We tried that and you'd be surprised when you see how much more life in a tiny drop of Heineken is. These gems here look pretty friendly to me, comparing to the ones I've seen from Heineken.

[Wombat6]

Now I have a medical reason to not like them.

Omg your attitude!

Spot on.

And another reason not to travel on an aircraft with them