Prisoner with TB on the run in Phuket

[webfact]

Prisoner with TB on the run in Phuket
The Nation

PHUKET: -- Phuket is on high alert on Friday after a prisoner escaped from a hospital in the province where he was receiving treatment for tuberculosis.

Phuket Prison's warden Pichit Wannajit identified the prisoner as Nimit Jindamanee, 45, who has been detained on fraud charges since June 25.

He was admitted to Vachira Phuket Hospital on September 28, Pichit said. The prison authorities discovered early Friday morning that he had escaped from the hospital.

Police are now hunting for him.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Prisoner-with-TB-on-the-run-in-Phuket-30275203.html


-- The Nation 2015-12-18

[PETERTHEEATER]

TB? It isn't the cough that carries you off, it's the coffin they carry you off in......

[smedly]

the last thing Thailand needs is the spreading of this deadly horrible disease​

[springheeled jack]

this man must be caught quickly before he can contaminate others TB can spread very quickly I do believe that nowadays it is very hard to cure all the more reason for this man to be caught as quickly as possible.

[hansgruber]

He should be out of breath rather quickly.

Someone would have had to assist him in the getaway.

[SOTIRIOS]

....I hope this is not the excuse they will make for the apparent epidemic...

...so many people coughing everywhere you turn....

[Somtamnication]

He just got caught. Police friend of mine sent me the pics.

[gilo]

Regrettably TB is all to prevalent in Thai prisons and the prognosis for the poor souls so afflicted in such places is grim. There are a few misconceptions however in some of the above posts. While TB is contagious and airborne it is not particularly easy to catch unless in close proximity to the carrier for a prolonged period of time or if the person's immune system is weak which is why it is defined as an AIDS defining condition for those with HIV. TB itself can be catagorised under three broad levels "regular" TB which is drug susceptible and usually takes a period of 6-9 months treatment for a cure to be effected (after 2 months usually no longer contagious). However much more worrying is the increasing rise of multiple drug resistant (MDR-TB) and extreme drug resistant (XD-TB) strains. The treatment and prognosis for these being nowhere near as good as that which is drug susceptible. The challenge is the increasing levels of MDR and XD-TB cases starting to emerge often as a result of individuals failing to adhere to their full course of antibiotic treatment (often the patient feels well after a couple of months but the TB bacteria are extremely difficult to fully eliminate thus the need for a prolonged course of treatment). Intriguingly Kanachanaburi has a statistically significantly higher level of MDR TB compared to the rest of the country but has not (as yet) spread much further than the pockets around the border areas with Myanmar. It should also be remembered that there is a difference between active TB which is contagious and latent TB which the WHO estimates that 1/3 of the world's population in fact has! Ignorance is a dangerous thing and hysteria generated by such articles does not help.Hopefully the individual will get the right treatment, which he is more likely to find on the outside than on the inside of the rat infested hell holes that pass themselves off as prisons here.

Edited December 18, 2015 by gilo