Pattaya Today 1
Vol. 8 No. 19 16 - 30 June 2009
Volume 8, Issue 19
16 - 30 June 2009
Influenza A(H1N1) Outbreak Confirmed in Pattaya
As of 11 June, 2009, 21 instances of the influenza A(H1N1) virus have been confirmed in Pattaya. All 21 cases were among the staff at a single discotheque, so far unnamed. This brings the total number in Thailand, as of going to press, to 46. It also raises Thailand’s position in the WHO table of countries infected, which currently stands at 77, with 27,737 cases confirmed and 31,636 suspected, worldwide. The medical investigations which detected those infected in Pattaya were conducted by the Medical Sciences Department on a sample of 1000 employees of bars, discos and hotels in the city. The reason the investigations were instituted in the first place was because two Taiwanese students who tested positive on their return to Taiwan said they suspected they’d contracted the influenza A (H1N1) virus, either in Bangkok or Pattaya. Accordingly, Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Centre notified the Thai authorities, who immediately began medical investigations in both cities. The first student, a 24-yearold on a one-week graduation trip to Thailand with a tour group, was discovered with a temperature of 38.4C on arrival at Taoyuan Inter-
national Airport on Sunday. Another male Taiwanese student also tested positive, while the third, a 23-year-old female student who had visited Thailand separately, was also confirmed virally infected on her return to Taiwan. The Minister of Public Health, Wittaya Kaewparadai, is reported to have said "Personally, I still doubt the three confirmed cases contracted the influenza A in Thailand; however, we have a responsibility to prove whether it's true or not". Initial tests were conducted at the unnamed Pattaya hotel that both male students had stayed at by the Public Health Ministry's Surveillance and Rapid Response Team. Later, Mr. Wittaya and his medical testing team visited Banglamung Hospital on 10 June, to oversee virus control prepara-
tions and have discussions with the hospital administration and the Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, Weerawat Kaykhay, about contingency plans and preventative measures to attempt to stem the outbreak. A 30-minute preventative information session was also held at the hospital, and hospital staff and both in- and out-patients were issued with face-masks. The minister, during his discussions with Mr. Weerawat, expressed his opinion that irrespective of whether or not the three Taiwanese had contracted the (H1N1) virus in Thailand, it would have little effect on the tourism industry. He did, however, express his concern that Bangkok's crowded nature and its various means of transport could put it at greater risk than Pattaya of becoming "ground for germ incubation". Meanwhile, a 100-strong
team of the Chonburi Public Health Department were sent to check local residents, to issue preventative equipment, such as face-masks and gels, give preventative information and allay fears concerning the virulence of the virus. This is in accordance with instructions issued by the Minister of Public Health, who is reported to have said "We have to make the public understand that this disease can be treated and the rate of mortality is low”. As another five instances of infection were announced for Bangkok, all but one who had brought the infection back with them from abroad, the minister expressed his disapproval of the many incoming tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport who were apparently trying to dodge examination by the thermal scanners. Some have been trying to reduce their body temperatures by using antipyretic drugs, or washing their faces in cold water. This comes as 200 Thai students, currently studying in the US under the Work and Travel Project, begin their return home. Of more concern, however, is the domestic contraction of the virus, particularly in the second domestic case which was confirmed recently, an 11-year-old Bangkok private schoolboy, whose mother, also
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testing positive despite having displayed no symptoms, was among the five cases announced on June 11. Crucially, neither had been abroad, nor had any contact with those who had. Another 13 suspected cases from the boy’s school are also under surveillance and if their lab-results prove positive, the school will be closed down. It is almost certain that the 21 infected individuals in the Pattaya discotheque also contracted the virus as a result of domestic transmission, which will radically raise the number of those so infected, nationwide.