Thai Health Authority:HFMD is contained in Cambodia

BANGKOK, July 16 (TNA) - A senior Thai health official says that Cambodia can now contain a deadly viral strain of the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and the epidemic is, therefore, expected to fade over the next 30-45 days. Dr. Pasakorn Akarasevi, Director of the Thai Ministry of Public Health's Bureau of Epidemiology, confirmed on Friday that the HFMD in Cambodia, which has spread mostly in Phnom Penh and its vicinity, as well as at the estuary of the Mekong River, has now brought under control. But authorities at the Aranyaprathet border checkpoint in Thailand's eastern Sa Kaeo Province have continued taking serious precautions, including the measurement of body temperatures and the distribution of sanitizer gel for all Cambodian visitors to block its spread. The strict measures are in place although there have been no reports on any HFMD outbreak in Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey Province, which borders Aranyaprathet District. In Thailand, a non-virulent HFMD is now in its season, with some 13,000 patients reported since early this year, the figure of which is comparable to that of last year. Thai health authorities have, meanwhile, estimated that there should be 18,000 HFMD patients in Thailand throughout 2012 and most of them are in the Central Plain and the Northeast. The Thai health authorities also told staff of local nurseries and kindergartens to immediately close their places if there were more than five HFMD patients. (TNA)