Swine Flu Prevention in Thailand
1.Swine-flu prevention raised to 'maximum'
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30101848&keyword=Swine+flu+Thailand
By THE NATION ON SUNDAY, AGENCIES
Published on May 3, 2009
All visitors, including VIPs, entering Thailand subjected to thermal scanners
Thailand yesterday raised its swine-flu preventive measures to "maximum", with all visitors entering the country subjected to thermal scanners and even dignitaries not exempt.
Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodee said the Public Health Ministry had stepped up surveillance after the first cases of the virus were confirmed in Hong Kong and South Korea on Friday.
He said the six thermal scanners at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport would check every passenger coming through the regional travel hub round the clock.
"After the outbreak [in Asia], we think it's better to do more rather than less. From now on everyone who enters Thailand, no matter how senior they are, will have to pass through a scanner," Manit said, "even a minister or the prime minister himself."
The scanners were turned on 181,713 arriving passengers in the past five days, and 31 were found with high body temperature, but most were later cleared.
Bureau of Epidemiology chief Dr Pasakorn Akarasewi reported that two Thai women in their 40s remained under close surveillance although the initial flu-test results were negative.
Deputy permanent secretary for public health Paijit Warachit said that tomorrow one more ambulance would be sent to the airport so that two would be available.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has been instructed to buy ingredients for oseltamivir to produce two million tablets of the influenza drug. Four million masks are ready for public distribution, and all hospitals nationwide are to set up swine-flu screening centres as was done for bird flu, Paijit added.
Permanent Secretary for Public Health Prat Boonyawongwirot said all passengers from countries at risk would be asked to fill in a questionnaire. All who pass the scanners will get a "health-awarenss card" to watch for flu-like symptoms throughout their first fortnight in Thailand. The ministry has printed one million cards.
Manit said Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya had expressed concern about swine flu and advised the ministry to act with unusual rigour.
Deputy PM Sanan Kachornpra-sart, who chairs a national committee on the "2009 flu", had a meeting at 10.30am yesterday with senior officials including Manit at the Public Health Ministry's swine-flu control centre.
Urging intensive and continuous control, Sanan called for appropriate measures for 14 Thais who are to fly back from Mexico today.
Those who pass thermal scanning and physical examination will be followed by a medical team for a week, he said, and those with high body temperature will be put under close surveillance in hospital.
Sanan said he would contact the Mexican Embassy to arrange for the transportation to Mexico of 20,000-30,000 oseltamivir tablets, which would be initially sufficient for 19,000 patients. He said he would ask the Cabinet when it met on Tuesday to purchase 10 infrared thermo-scanners, which cost Bt1.5 million each, to be installed at borders.
Meanwhile, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, who is to chair a meeting of health ministers from the 10-member Asean plus Japan, China and South Korea on swine flu on Friday in Bangkok, said the government was closely watching the situation and taking measures to prevent an outbreak.
In related news, Labour Minister Phaithoon Kaeothong said there was no plan to evacuate Thai workers in countries where swine flu had been found. The ministry has put on hold travel abroad by Thai workers until the disease has been contained, he added.
2.Swine flu medicine available here
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30101463&keyword=Swine+flu+Thailand
By The Nation Published on April 28, 2009
The medicine is called GPOAFlu.
The Public Health Ministry has up to 3 million tablets in stock, while the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has 170,000.
GPO director Dr Witit Artavatkun said infected patients needed to take two tablets daily for five consecutive days.
The World Health Organisation has now advised all countries to intensify surveillance for unusual outbreaks of flulike illness and severe pneumonia.
Symptoms of swine flu in humans are fever, lethargy, diminished appetite and coughing. Some people have also reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
So far, there have been no reported cases of the new strain of swine flu in Thailand.
Disease Control Department spokesman Dr Kumnuan Ungchusak said measures to identify and treat infected patients flying back from outbreak areas would be key to preventing the disease from spreading in Thailand.
Witit said the GPO could deliver the GPOAFlu medicine to Bangkokbased medical facilities within 12 hours.
"For those outside of Bangkok, we can make delivery within 24 hours," Witit said, adding that if necessary, GPO could manufacture another 1 million tablets more of GPOAFlu right away, because it had the raw materials at hand.
Dr Supamit Chunsuttiwat, head of the Emerging Infectious Disease Division, said the faster that patients could receive GPOAFlu, the better.
Kumnuan said the new strain of swine flu had a fatality rate of about 6 per cent in Mexico.
"The fatality rate of bird flu is 60 per cent," he said.
Kumnuan also said swine flu would be easier to control than bird flu: "When it comes to swine flu, we can focus on humans, but bird flu involves the culling of so many fowl."
3.Thailand calls for tighter border control
By: APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL AND PRADIT RUANGDIT
Published: 7/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Burma fails to join Mekong state meeting
Thailand will propose the beefing up of border controls for influenza among Mekong countries at a meeting today at which Burma will not be formally represented.
Deputy permanent secretary for public health Siriporn Kanchana said strict measures at the borders of countries in the Mekong sub-region were needed to prevent swine flu from spreading.
The principles of this cooperation would be included in a statement tomorrow by the public health ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their partners from China, Japan and South Korea.
"An enhancement of surveillance for the new strain of influenza is urgently needed to strengthen disease control measures among [Asean] member countries," she said.
The meeting starts today with talks among senior officials who will prepare the agenda for the gathering of their ministers.
In addition to the ministers from Southeast and East Asian countries, experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Bank, United Nations System Influenza Coordination, Food and Agriculture Organisation and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will participate in the meeting to seek a rapid response to an epidemic.
The main objective of the meeting is to assess the spread of influenza and improve prevention measures to protect the lives of over 500 million people in the region.
But a government source said the cabinet had decided to slash its public relations budget by 20 million baht to 31 million baht.
A plan to buy more thermal scanners had not been discussed, the source said.
Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said he would hold talks with China's health minister today to discuss cooperation on technical know-how such as medicine and vaccine development.
My Reaction
Thailand is now coming out with the highest level policies to prevent the Swine flu that is spreading worldwide. The government has provide a large budget to buy more thermal scanners, held a meeting and campaigns to improve prevention of Swine flu with other countries and the important reason is protecting lives of people in the region.
It is a great opportunity for the government to perform its duty of protecting the country after the recent political conflicts in Thailand. And there is an opportunity of increasing the tourists to the country as Thailand is considered to have no risk of Swine flu.
Many organizations that provide transportation service have cooperated in screening people who enter the country from worldwide with no exceptions. The cooperation benefits both the organizations and the image of the country. The organizations for example Thai airways can use this as an opportunity to present good service and help the country in the economic crisis.
Although we have found no swine flu infected people and there have been no reported cases of the new strain of swine flu in Thailand, for our own good everyone has to be careful and watch for flu symptoms because people can become infected easily by physical contact with the flu virus and then touching their mouth or nose.
Images of the chaos at Songkran were shown all over the world, denting tourist confidence in Thailand. But those tourists arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport now will be greeted by evidence of the Thai government’s energetic response to the threat of swine flu, a response that may start rebuilding tourist confidence again.
The Swine Flu now reached two countries in Asia including Hong Kong and South Korea. The government is concerned about this serious situation and put in place policies to prevent the Swine Flu coming to Thailand.
The government has stored thermal scanners in three main airports; Suwannabhumi, Phuket and Chiang Mai, given out the flu masks and stored GPOAFlu and finally,held a meeting between the Mekong countries.
These policies show that Abisit’s government is responding quickly to the threat of swine flu. And they will reassure arrivals to Thailand that the Thai government takes their welfare seriously. Third, organizations such as Thai Airways have shown good service, so we can hope that tourists are not afraid of coming to Thailand anymore.