Thais warned of 9 diseases during rainy season

[webfact]

Thais warned of 9 diseases during rainy season

BANGKOK, 5 June 2014 (NNT) – The Disease Control Department is raising public awareness of possible disease outbreaks as the annual rainy season is approaching.

Dr. Sopon Mekthon, Director General of the Disease Control Department, has issued a health warning against possible outbreaks of nine different kinds of disease during the monsoon season, two of which are influenza and hand, foot and mouth disease.

He said both of the diseases are deadly especially influenza, which has taken 59 lives in the past five months, while the total number of influenza infections reached 36,400 during the period.

Other diseases people need to be cautious about during the rainy season, according to him, are dengue fever, hepatitis, leptospirosis, pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis (JE), cholera, and malaria.

Individuals can develop a strong immune system by taking sufficient rest, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy diet, said the doctor, adding that one should consult a doctor immediately if he/she comes down with a disease.


-- NNT 2014-06-05

[snottgoblin]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

[krisb]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Hep is highly contageous.

Just guessing but possibly coughing from a flu? More types of Hep than just the Hep C variety caught from sex etc.

Just read up on Leptospirosis. Wow that's a nasty one to get. Would rain puddles help spread some of these diseases?

[Kasset Tak]

The hepatitis A virus is found in the stool of people with hepatitis A. It is spread from person to person by putting something in your mouth that has been contaminated with the stool of an infected person.

Therefore, hepatitis A is most commonly transmitted in drinking water or food contaminated with the stool containing the virus.

It is spread easily where there is poor sanitation or poor personal hygiene.

Other ways to get hepatitis A include:

• Eating fruits, vegetables, or other foods that were contaminated during handling
• Eating raw shellfish harvested from water contaminated with the virus
• Swallowing contaminated water or ice

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. Most adults who get it have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis B.

Sometimes the virus causes a long-term infection, called chronic hepatitis B. Over time, it can damage your liver. Babies and young children infected with the virus are more likely to get chronic hepatitis B.

You can have hepatitis B and not know it. You may not have symptoms. If you do, they can make you feel like you have the flu. But as long as you have the virus, you can spread it to others.

It's caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is spread through contact with the blood and body fluids of an infected person.

You may get hepatitis B if you:

• Have sex with an infected person without using a condom.
• Share needles (used for injecting drugs) with an infected person.
• Get a tattoo or piercing with tools that weren't sterilized.
• Share personal items like razors or toothbrushes with an infected person.
  
  Hepatitis C is a disease caused by a virus that infects theliver. In time, it can lead to permanent liver damage as well as cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure.
  • You had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992. As of 1992 in the United States, all donated blood and organs are screened for hepatitis C.
  • You get a shot with a needle that has infected blood on it. This happens in some developing countries where they use needles more than once when giving shots.
  • You get a tattoo or a piercing with a needle that has infected blood on it. This can happen if equipment isn't cleaned properly after it is used.
  • Many people don't know that they have hepatitis C until they already have some liver damage. This can take many years. Some people who get hepatitis C have it for a short time and then get better. This is called acute hepatitis C. But most people who are infected with the virus go on to develop long-term, or chronic, hepatitis C.

• Although hepatitis C can be very serious, most people can manage the disease and lead active, full lives.

  Hepatitis C is caused by the hepatitis C virus. It is spread by contact with an infected person's blood.

  You can get hepatitis C if:

  You share needles and other equipment used to inject illegal drugs. This is the most common way to get hepatitis C in the United States.

  Sorry if it's to much, inconclusive or missing something... I just used the copy/paste technique....

[kieran2698]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Specifically Hepatitis A and E.

Hep B, C, D, F and G will not be more prevalent as they are spread though sharing body fluids.

Hep A ad E are spread more easily and generally are transmitted through food. An infected person preparing food can spread the infection to those who eat it. This will become more prevalent in the rainy season as street vendors prepare food with wet hands and wet tables and contaminate the whole preparation area and all the food. It is even possible to catch Hep A or E from standing in infected water, so again this will add to the infection rate in the rainy season.

Hep A and E do have immunizations.

[snottgoblin]

Yeah, I guess standing infected water would be the reason - although it does seem a bit of a weird statement. BTW, there are also immunizations for Hep B as well

[ATF]

It's very important to keep your Hep B vacs up to date. No vac for Hep C but the cure costs $100,000's. That's USD.

[Now or Never]

He failed to mention one of Thailand's biggest killers ( disease ) .... Thai drivers who have to be more dangerous on wet roads.

[Prbkk]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

[thumper101]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Possibly the same reason the 'cold virus' in the west is called 'a cold'.... You can't catch a virus from merely being 'cold'... But in winter time it is a lot more rampant, and the reason for this is that during winter, people generally spend less time outdoors and more time indoors and so enabling the virus to spread easier between people. Basically the virus can't spread at all well outdoors in the open.

So logically viruses and diseases spread a lot more effectively indoors with people in closer proximity to one another.

The rainy season will see more people indoors to avoid the drenching. So naturally the diseases have a much higher chance of taking hold.

[thumper101]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

Read above.... it is pure fiction that you can catch a cold from rain....... It is a virus and can only spread from host to host.... Not from raindrops or being wet or 'cold'..... lol

[Chicog]

Good that they warned the Thais about these things. I look forward to them warning foreigners and tourists.

[Gunna]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Hep is highly contageous.

Just guessing but possibly coughing from a flu? More types of Hep than just the Hep C variety caught from sex etc.

Just read up on Leptospirosis. Wow that's a nasty one to get. Would rain puddles help spread some of these diseases?

Yes Leptospirosis is bad news - I caught it years ago when farming in New Zealand. The Dr said it was probably caused by cows urine splashing in my eyes at milking time

[kamahele]

Luckily I have had the pneumonia vaccine as well as the Hep B and Hep A vaccines and got my flu vaccine a few months back. Wish I could say there were vaccines for the rest of diseases on that list. To avoid leptospirosis, I always stay out of the fresh water in Thailand. I don't even put my big toe in it unless it is chlorinated. I wish I could say there were vaccines for malaria and dengue. Had dengue last year and it laid me low. Older folks and young kids are at risk for the flue and pneumonia so if you are up there in age or you have kids, talk to your physician! Kids are also more likely to die from dengue than adults. Keep them as safe as possible from mosquitoes.

[lostmebike]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

Read above.... it is pure fiction that you can catch a cold from rain....... It is a virus and can only spread from host to host.... Not from raindrops or being wet or 'cold'..... lol

I thought he was being sarcastic ... but then maybe not.

[peterb17]

It's very important to keep your Hep B vacs up to date. No vac for Hep C but the cure costs $100,000's. That's USD.

Of course if you have access to that terrible third world NHS in the UK ( that Americans seem to criticise so much ) the treatment would not cost you a single cent.

[belg]

my university educated middle-so wife (not hi-so), still bla bla, that you can get sick / a cold when it rains ....

i ask her, does the virus live in the air or the clouds and when it rains it falls down on you ?

I agree that the dirty air from all the garbage burning (neighboorhood) cause acid rain or dirty stuff, but to get a cold ... any experts here ?

[Jonmarleesco]

'... one should consult a doctor immediately if he/she comes down with a disease.'

Therein lies one problem, inherent in the need for every sick individual to go to a hospital for diagnosis. By the time a doctor has established that he/she has a transmittable disease, it's spread among other hospital attendees, never mind taxi drivers, etc.

[Jonmarleesco]

my university educated middle-so wife (not hi-so), still bla bla, that you can get sick / a cold when it rains ....

i ask her, does the virus live in the air or the clouds and when it rains it falls down on you ?

I agree that the dirty air from all the garbage burning (neighboorhood) cause acid rain or dirty stuff, but to get a cold ... any experts here ?

The rain supposedly weakens resistance.

[arjunadawn]

It's very important to keep your Hep B vacs up to date. No vac for Hep C but the cure costs $100,000's. That's USD.

Of course if you have access to that terrible third world NHS in the UK ( that Americans seem to criticise so much ) the treatment would not cost you a single cent.

Not sure how your non sequitur regarding "Americans" supported your point. Nevertheless, the idea that health care "would not cost [you] a single cent" is fallacious; someone pays! It gets paid for- or not! Invariably, taxes, inflation, and cost of living subsidize free health care. Your argument may be valid, just not on the premise that healthcare is free. I would add that I do understand free health care is both a moral and public policy issue- I get it, and my opinion is not made up yet regarding it's imperative. It's just not free, that's all.

[arjunadawn]

my university educated middle-so wife (not hi-so), still bla bla, that you can get sick / a cold when it rains ....

i ask her, does the virus live in the air or the clouds and when it rains it falls down on you ?

I agree that the dirty air from all the garbage burning (neighboorhood) cause acid rain or dirty stuff, but to get a cold ... any experts here ?

The rain supposedly weakens resistance.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a remarkable theory regarding your point (I assume Ayurvedic medicine also). They assert that the balance of health is derived from excess and/or deficiency. The body, if mostly healthy and functioning normally, can destroy most invading pathogens. But led to deficiency by damp, cold, energy, diet, even heat, can enable an otherwise harmless pestilence to make us sick. This one part seems so curious when I went through school. At it's core is the imperative to basically take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, moderate your exposure to the elements, etc. Western medicine is mechanical "What's broke?"

On another thread I ran afoul of some because they surmised I advocated witchcraft for endorsing Eastern Medicine; I do not, per se. I do advocate both as an approach to patients. There is a body of practical wisdom contained in the eastern medical literature that would do the west well to consider in their modern, fractured, hectic lives. I never bought the nonsense that cold or wet makes us sick until I realized that it doesn't make people sick, it makes people susceptible.

[Mudcrab]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

More rubbish. There is absolutely no evidence that anyone is more prone to catching a "cold" after being in the rain than anywhere else.

The same goes from coming into air-conditioning after being outside.

[arjunadawn]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

More rubbish. There is absolutely no evidence that anyone is more prone to catching a "cold" after being in the rain than anywhere else.

The same goes from coming into air-conditioning after being outside.

It would be a fool's errand to assert that sickness is only the consequence of superior invading pathogenic influences and not also causally related to a host's inherent self-defense.

When you state "absolutely no evidence" exists to support environmental exposure increases "catching a cold" you lower the bar to near child-like levels to prove you wrong. In the one study attached even a 10% increase is an incidence of 100,000 out of 1,000,000. Perhaps you meant to post on a different thread:

http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/content/22/6/608

[ratcatcher]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Hep is highly contageous.

Just guessing but possibly coughing from a flu? More types of Hep than just the Hep C variety caught from sex etc.

Just read up on Leptospirosis. Wow that's a nasty one to get. Would rain puddles help spread some of these diseases?

Yes Leptospirosis is bad news - I caught it years ago when farming in New Zealand. The Dr said it was probably caused by cows urine splashing in my eyes at milking time

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

[Chicog]

The Moat in Chiang Mai is swimming with it, courtesy of the resident rats.

[frankthetank]

Can anyone explain to me why Hepatitis would be more prevalent in the rainy season?

More education about how to prevent the spread of all of these diseases would be more useful - and some legislation in particular around still water areas.

Hep is highly contageous.

Just guessing but possibly coughing from a flu? More types of Hep than just the Hep C variety caught from sex etc.

Just read up on Leptospirosis. Wow that's a nasty one to get. Would rain puddles help spread some of these diseases?

Yes Leptospirosis is bad news - I caught it years ago when farming in New Zealand. The Dr said it was probably caused by cows urine splashing in my eyes at milking time

Are you sure that was a cow that you were trying to milk??

[lineofentry]

Just stay away from people, horrible nasty infectious things.

[marko kok prong]

my university educated middle-so wife (not hi-so), still bla bla, that you can get sick / a cold when it rains ....

i ask her, does the virus live in the air or the clouds and when it rains it falls down on you ?

I agree that the dirty air from all the garbage burning (neighboorhood) cause acid rain or dirty stuff, but to get a cold ... any experts here ?

The rain supposedly weakens resistance.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a remarkable theory regarding your point (I assume Ayurvedic medicine also). They assert that the balance of health is derived from excess and/or deficiency. The body, if mostly healthy and functioning normally, can destroy most invading pathogens. But led to deficiency by damp, cold, energy, diet, even heat, can enable an otherwise harmless pestilence to make us sick. This one part seems so curious when I went through school. At it's core is the imperative to basically take care of yourself, eat right, exercise, moderate your exposure to the elements, etc. Western medicine is mechanical "What's broke?"

On another thread I ran afoul of some because they surmised I advocated witchcraft for endorsing Eastern Medicine; I do not, per se. I do advocate both as an approach to patients. There is a body of practical wisdom contained in the eastern medical literature that would do the west well to consider in their modern, fractured, hectic lives. I never bought the nonsense that cold or wet makes us sick until I realized that it doesn't make people sick, it makes people susceptible.

Break out the Crystals,add some waffle bingo-you got Arjunadawn.

[surangw]

see an increase in hypochondria, and visits to pharmacies for little bags of pills

[Thaiready]

They forget the most common one of all: catching cold after being caught in the rain..it happens to all of us.

Read above.... it is pure fiction that you can catch a cold from rain....... It is a virus and can only spread from host to host.... Not from raindrops or being wet or 'cold'..... lol

bs