BANGKOK, 3 June 2013 The Public Health Ministry has expressed its concerns on people catching diseases during the wet season, while disclosing that nearly 900,000 people were found sick during the rainy season of 2012, with 764 fatalities.
As Thailand has now entered the monsoon season, Dr. Pradit Sintavanarong, Minister of Public Health, has warned people to be on alert for 17 common diseases normally found during the season and to keep themselves as healthy as possible. He has also urged all hospitals to be vigilant and pay close attention to patients with pneumonia, corona virus, bird flu H7N9, and H5N1 virus. He has also ordered all doctors to watch out for bird flu even though no cases of H7N9 have been found in the country yet.
Among the 17 diseases people need to be cautious about are fever, influenza, pneumonia, dengue fever, and hand-foot and-mouth disease.
According to the statistics compiled last year, more than 880,000 people caught a disease during the monsoon season, 108,000 of whom came down with pneumonia, 47,000 had influenza, 44,000 caught dengue fever, and 33,000 people suffered from hand-foot and mouth- disease; 764 people out of the total infections died. The minister has therefore urged people to consult a doctor immediately if they feel unwell.
For further information, please contact the Department of Disease Control at 1422.
