20 New Cases of Zika in Thailand, Public Health Ministry Tightens Control

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BANGKOK – Twenty new patients in four provinces have contracted the mosquito-borne Zika virus, but the situation remains under control, according to the Public Health Ministry.

The latest batch of patients have been diagnosed in Chiang Mai, Chanthaburi, Phetchabun and Bueng Kan.

In Chiang Mai’s San Sai district, two infected women, who are six and eight months pregnant, are being closely monitored by medical staff, Chiang Mai public health official Phaisan Thanyawinitchakun told the Bangkok Post.

Health officials are monitoring some 30 pregnant women living in high-risk Zika areas but who are not infected. Six of them have already delivered strong and healthy babies, Dr Sopon said.

Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has instructed health officials across the Kingdom to intensify their operations to prevent the spread of Zika virus although no fatalities or abnormalities in infants have been found.

NNT reported that Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Sopon Mekthon held a teleconference with heads of all provincial public health offices as well as directors of both public and private hospitals in order to reiterate the policy to protect people from three mosquito-borne diseases, consisting of dengue fever, Chikungunya and Zika fever.

Regarding the Zika situation, Dr Sopon made known that infections have been reported occasionally in every region since early this year and that thus far, no one has died from the disease in Thailand while no cases of microcephaly have been discovered in newborns.

The Permanent Secretary for Public Health noted that the best preventive measure against Zika is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes. He said he has assigned public health officials and hospital staff in each province to be on high alert for Zika infections, impose disease control measures within a 100-meter radius of each patient’s home and ensure no outbreak. They were also asked to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds in local communities every Friday until the end of October.

Health authorities in Malaysia and Singapore have also reported Zika patients with confirmed cases in Singapore already reaching 242.

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