Minister: HFMD in Thailand is of less severe strains

BANGKOK, July 21 (TNA) - Public Health Minister Wittaya Buranasiri says that the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Thailand is of less severe strains than that of neighbouring countries. Speaking during the weekly broadcast of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok Saturday morning, Wittaya, however, advised that people consult doctors immediately if they find their children have high fever and breath with difficulty, as nationwide outbreaks of the HFMD have now reached nearly 14,000 cases. Wittaya acknowledged that his ministry has sent circular letters to every hospital under its supervision to provide advice and proper treatment to patients suffering from the disease, insisting that both state-run and private hospitals throughout Thailand can handle the spread of the virus. Dr. Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Disease Control, then acknowledged that the HFMD has been found in Thailand for over five decades, usually in heavy rainfall and humidity areas, and it has been mostly detected in children aged between 2 to 8 years old. According to the senior official, so far there have been 13,918 HFMD cases in Thailand, compared with about 20,000 and 63,000 cases in Singapore and Vietnam respectively. Meanwhile, all child care centres situated near the border have reportedly been closed temporarily to prevent any outbreak of the HFMD from neighbouring countries. (TNA)