BANGKOK, May 5— Thailand’s Public Health Ministry revealed that cervical cancer kills 14 Thai women a day or around 5,200 women per year.
Deputy Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said that around 10,000 Thai women were diagnosed with cancer of the cervix each year.
Cervical cancer ranks as the second biggest health threat for Thai women in the working age group along with the elderly. The disease was found most frequently in women aged 45-55 years.
The deputy health minister explained that the major cause of the disease was human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. To prevent the fatal disease, the ministry has been mapping out a plan to promote Pap smear tests and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) tests among women.
If the tests could be conducted among 80 per cent of Thai women, or 17 million persons, it could help decrease the number of deaths by 61 per cent, said Dr Chonan.
