Thai Mental Health Dept assures no cause for panic after second MERS case

[webfact]

Dept of Mental Health assures no cause for panic after second MERS case



BANGKOK, 26 January 2016 (NNT) – The Department of Mental Health has assured that there is no reason for panic if people follow the government’s recommendations for public health.

The comment came after the Ministry of Public Health confirmed an Omani traveler had contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country’s second infection. Currently, the Omani patient is receiving medical treatment in quarantine at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.

Dr. Jessada Chokdamrongsuk, Director-General of the Department of Mental Health, echoed the Prime Minister’s earlier statements and advised the people to follow developments in the news closely and take care to maintain personal hygiene. He voiced concerns that unnecessary stress over a possible MERS outbreak could take a toll on the people. Symptoms of clinical stress include insomnia, headaches, dizziness, upset stomach, and nausea.

Anyone experiencing these symptoms is urged to contact the department, nearby hospitals, or the mental health hotline at 1323.

-- NNT 2016-01-26

[jaltsc]

"... there is no reason for panic if people follow the government’s recommendations for public health."

If people follow these recommendations the same way they follow those for smoking, alcohol and driving, sanitation, diets, etc. Then there is more than enough reason for a full scale panic.

[tukkytuktuk]

Mers effects mental health?

[trogers]

Mers effects mental health?

That's why I began to panic...

[thesetat2013]

Mers effects mental health?

These are thee same people who stated their was a new outbreak of mental illness with those who followed politics during the last protests in bkk

[slapout]

I won''t even guess at the qualifications that got this man his title /job but I would guess he never did much study at uni

in Thai laws, rules, recomendations, etc and the practical following of such by the people.

It makes no difference if you ask, order, suggest, make threat, beg, whatever, they do what they feel like on the

following morning when they wake up. Thailand does not appear noted for her strong mental intelligence, much less, mental health.

[bangrak]

It has been shown MERS finds its origin into camels, it is not clear yet though which kind of contacts with camels allowed the fever to jump over from camels on humans... (I remember a theory about AIDS' origin linking it to 'contacts' between some central african people and green monkeys...)

What kind of touristic activities explain the presence in Thailand of elderly men from Oman (MERS case 1 and 2 are 70 years up), of all places? Would it be the same as for single western europeans males of the same age group (erm ...), or what?

And what about those top-hospitals in oil-rich Oman? This man was treated for one week in hospital for respiratory problems(!) and coughing, and then released to come to Thailand! Wasn't he tested for MERS, or what?

As for mental health here, there might even be more questions, but let's guess it was the editor's assistant having a (mental) lapse while writing or okaying the caption... Maybe (s)he was too busy at the time with a child angel...

[klauskunkel]

After a hard poker night with the Center for Disease Control, the Thai Mental Health Dept won the right to comment on MERS, while the CDC is supposed to comment on the "crazed judge" incident but is still struggling with the wording. Maybe they can also use the "don't panic" catch-all.

[Jonmarleesco]

No cause for panic shouldn't equate to no cause for concern. So given the concern over personal hygiene - rightly so - perhaps the health department should visit every building in the country that hosts public hygiene facilities, because in far too many of them, there is no toilet tissue, no soap, no drying facilities, often no water, and in many cases, none of the above. A prime example sits at the junction of Sukhumvit road and Soi 42. It has had, for a long time - in the men's, at least - no dryers or towels. It did have soap dispensers ... minus the requisite cleanser; now it has dispensed with the hassle required to fill them ... by dispensing with the dispensers. Lo and behold, its name implies it is a medical services centre, and it has the tenants to support that being the case.