The Department of Disease Control (DDC) on Saturday confirmed that no cases of necrotising fasciitis -- a rare bacterial infection that spreads quickly in the body and can cause death -- have been detected in Thailand this year, adding it is closely monitoring the situation in Japan and Thailand.
Responding on Saturday to a worrying increase in cases of the "flesh-eating" disease in Japan, the DDC said that while Japan is investigating the exact cause, some believe that its easing of Covid-19 prevention measures could be among the factors.
Covid-19 prevention measures also work perfectly in protecting against this bacterial infection, said the DDC. There are more than 200 types of bacteria that can cause necrotising fasciitis, with Group A Streptococcus (Group A strep) being the most common cause of the disease, said the DDC.
The accumulated number of necrotising fasciitis infections recorded from 2019 until the end of last year was 106,021, said the DDC, adding that 1,048 people died.
The morbidity rate in Thailand fell significantly last year to 27.35 per 100,000 population, from 32.5 previously, while the number of cases usually peaks between June and July of every year, said the DDC.
Necrotising fasciitis is a serious illness that requires care in a hospital, while antibiotics and surgery are typically the first lines of defence if a doctor suspects a patient has necrotising fasciitis.
In Thailand's disease surveillance system, scarlet fever, which is classified as a disease under surveillance under the 2015 Communicable Diseases Act, is recognised as a warning sign of possible Group A Streptococcus infection, said the DDC.
While the scarlet fever rash itself is not harmful, it is an indicator of Group A Strep disease, which can progress to invasive diseases, including necrotising fasciitis or toxic shock syndrome, and be fatal if left untreated, the DDC added.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government last week reported that the number of cases of the infection had exceeded more than half of last year's count -- 88 in the capital -- along with 517 infections nationwide.