BANGKOK, 3 August 2011 – The Ministry of Public Health has ordered all provincial public health offices in flood-hit zones to monitor six waterborne diseases while people are asked to help prevent spreading the diseases.
According to Permanent Secretary for Public Health Medical Doctor Paijit Warachit, provincial public health offices are monitoring six waterborne diseases, including leptospirosis, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A, pink eye and dengue fever upon ravaging floods in many provinces at present.
Local public health authorities are instructed to educate people on how to prevent the diseases while residents living in inundated areas are warned not to defecate and throw rubbish into the water to prevent risks of waterborne diseases.
Residents in flooded areas are advised to defecate into plastic bags and tie them tightly for proper disposal to prevent spreading of diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera. They are also told to wear gloves and plastic boots to prevent leptospirosis.
Mobile medical units have been dispatched to take care of people. They have distributed over 49,000 sets of anti-flood medicine. Most of residents in flood-hit zones are suffering from athlete’s foot, respiratory diseases and diarrhoea.
People hence are suggested that they should take care of their health, eat well-cooked or warm food, use serving spoons, wash their hands frequently and keep their bodies warm as Thailand at present is having frequent rainfalls.
