Published Date: 2007-05-03 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/MBDS> Dengue - Thailand (02): RFI
Archive Number: 20070503.1434
DENGUE - THAILAND (02): REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: 3 May 2007
Source: Bangkok Post [edited]
Thailand's Ministry of Public Health is on full alert to prevent the
spread of dengue fever after the disease claimed 4 people's lives so
far this year , and the number of dengue fever patients
nationwide has risen to 6000.
The focus of the outbreak is in Trat province, 400 km southeast of
Bangkok on the Cambodian border and in the southernmost provinces
along the Malaysian border.
Trat has almost 5 times the frequency of the disease -- 46 patients
per 100 000 population -- compared to the national average of 10 per
100 000, according to Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla,
while Pattani experiences 42 per 100 000, and Yala has 33 per 100 000
Earlier than usual rains has meant that dengue is a greater concern
this year  than before, Dr. Mongkol said.
More breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes emerge during
the rainy season, he explained, especially in the 3 southernmost
provinces, where heavier rainfall contributes to a higher population
of mosquitoes than in the country's other regions.
Dr. Mongkol said that the outbreak could become a severe problem in
the border provinces, as health officials can't implement pro-active
strategies to fight the disease due to the ongoing violence.
The number of dengue fever patients is normally higher from May to
August due to the rainy season. So far, there have been 6070 dengue
fever patients in the 1st 4 months of this year .
The nationwide ratio amounted to nearly 10 patients per 100 000
persons in the population, he said. However, almost 1000 new dengue
fever cases have been reported in the past 2 weeks.
The highest concentration of dengue fever patients was reported in
the eastern province of Trat with the ratio of 46:100 000, followed
by the southern provinces of Pattani at 42:100 000 and Yala at 33:100
000 respectively [these rates are as mentioned above, 46 cases per
100 000 population in Trat, 42 cases per 100 000 population in
Pattani and 33 cases per 100 000 population in Yala. - Mod.MPP].
The public health minister said he ordered health officials to work
with local authorities to prevent the further spread of any outbreak.
[In the earlier PRO/MBDS posting (Dengue - Thailand (Trat): RFI
20070404.1144), there was mention that during the period January to
March 2007, there were 52 cases of dengue reported from Trat as
compared with 18 cases reported during the same time frame in 2006.
The above newswire does not give absolute case numbers but does
mention that the population based rate for dengue in the 1st quarter
of the year (January through April 2007) was highest in Trat
province, followed by Pattani and Yala provinces. Looking at a map of
Thailand, Trat province is in the southeast of the country, bordering
Cambodia, while Pattani and Yala provinces are in the southwest of
the country, bordering Malaysia (see
More information on the dengue situation in Thailand, and neighboring
provinces in Cambodia and Malaysia, would be appreciated. - Mod.MPP]