Academics have urged Thais not to panic over the Ebola outbreak because there is a slim chance it will spread to Thailand, even though the fatal virus has so far killed more than 700 people in Africa.
The group of academics from Chulalongkorn University yesterday insisted that Ebola cannot be transmitted through the respiratory system.
It can only be passed from an infected person through close contact with blood, bodily fluids, the organ tissue of infected animals, or coming into contact with a dead animal or human who had the disease.
“We have plenty of knowledge related to Ebola as we have gone through disease outbreaks more than 20 times in Africa. We are always able to control it,” said Yong Poovorawan, chief for Chulalongkorn's Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Department of Paediatrics of Faculty of Medicine.
Dr Yong noted the virus would find it hard to spread through travel, because an infected person cannot move around comfortably due to weakness, unlike the Sars disease, which does not prevent mobility of those who are infected.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that there are 1,323 confirmed cases of Ebola. Of these, 729 victims had died in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria as of July 27.
The academic indicated that the virus spreads quicker in the poorer communities of African countries because the people don't have the required medical services to treat it.
They also lack the necessary knowledge to prevent the spread of the disease.
Dr Yong, who is also a committee member of the Bureau of Emerging Infectious Diseases, is confident that the Public Health Ministry is ready to handle an Ebola outbreak if the situation arises.
