Public health authorities are preparing to guard against the potential spread of bird flu in Thailand after more cases were found in neighbouring countries following a recent outbreak in the United States.
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has been working with the Livestock Department and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation to prepare for any potential outbreak, DDC director-general Dr Panumas Yanwetsakul said on Tuesday.
Thailand has been free of bird flu cases since 2006, but Dr Panumas said the global situation was worrisome.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 64 people in nine US states were found to have contracted the H5N1 virus this year.
Of those, 39 had touched infected cattle, 23 were attributed to exposure to diseased birds and the other two were infected from unknown sources.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said 939 bird flu cases have been reported worldwide since 2003, with 464 fatalities in 24 countries.
In addition to the United States, bird flu has been reported this year in some of Thailand’s neighbouring countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.
Dr Panumas said Thailand was at risk with its central geographic location in Southeast Asia, transnational travel and poultry farming being the main risk factors.
“The DDC has been working with various parties under the One Health system to prevent any outbreaks from happening in the country,” he said.
Dr Direk Khampaen, the DDC deputy director-general, said stricter surveillance measures were in place for hospitals to protect against bird flu in humans. The department has ordered screening checkpoints at hospitals and elevated screening measures.
People with symptoms like coughing, muscle tension or breathing difficulties — especially if they have had contact with birds or cows — are urged to notify a doctor as soon as possible for a screening test.
The department also instructed farmers to notify officers immediately if they find any abnormal deaths among their livestock, particularly birds and cows.
As well, protective measures have been prioritised for people with potentially higher exposure to the virus, such as doctors, livestock officers and parks and wildlife officers.
They have been told to receive an annual influenza vaccine as it reduces the chance of being infected with bird flu.
Dr Direk said the DDC is pushing for an improvement of vaccine security in the country by supporting the local production of flu shots to reduce dependency on imported vaccines and increase the nation’s readiness to deal with emergencies.
