Health volunteers got a briefing on rabies and dengue fever as Pattaya ramps up for hot-season outbreaks.
Deputy City Manager Wuthipol Charoenpol chaired the March 8 training session for Surveillance and Rapid Response Team members, who act as a first line of defense against disease outbreaks in villages and communities.
The SRRT volunteers heard from Kanrapa Mukdasanit, director of the Disease Control Department, nurse Anya Chantarakart and health specialist Chantrika Pranangkul.
Chantrika said Thailand’s “summer” period, which runs from March through November, is the period where outbreaks of dengue fever, hand-and-foot disease, rotavirus and rabies most occur.
SRRT members were shown how to prevent these diseases and how to prevent food poisoning caused by the rotavirus through good hygiene.
But the real focus of the meeting was rabies after Chonburi was declared a “red zone” for the disease. Pets should be vaccinated against the disease and the stray animal population controlled.
The Pattaya Health Department, they were told, will be offering free vaccinations and sterilizations in each of the city’s 42 communities over the coming months.
