BANGKOK – Thailand and Malaysia have strengthened their cooperation in fighting potential outbreaks of bird flu along the border between the two countries.
More than 60 officials from Thailand and Malaysia’s Perlis State on Monday recently joined a workshop designed to prepare the Thailand-Malaysia border region for any emergency related to the spread of bird flu.
Chief of the Satun Public Health Office, Dr. Banjerd Sukpipatpanon, said on Monday that to date there has been no case of bird flu in Satun Province nor along the Thailand-Malaysia border area.
However, Dr. Banjerd said that health officials don’t want to be unprepared and are always on standby to prevent any spread of the disease.
He stated that there must be an integration of efforts by all relevant units to understand the virus while they must acquire needed skills to be used when the situation calls for it.
As part of the workshop, participants attended a three-day field practice, which focused on the transportation of bird flu patients through the Wang Prachan Border Crossing, the disease control program in all communities, and an assessment and review of the lessons learnt during the first two days.
