Thailand takes stricter precautions to block HFMD from Cambodia

SA KAEO, July 13 (TNA) - Authorities at the Aranyaprathet border checkpoint in Thailand's eastern Sa Kaeo Province are watching out for signs of the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) more seriously, following updated reports that four children in Cambodia's Battambang Province across the common border have been infected with the disease and one of them is now in critical condition. People in Battambang particularly panic now, as a local newspaper, DAP News, in Cambodia reported that four Cambodian children have get infected with the disease and one of them is seriously ill. Consequently, Thai officials at the Aranyaprathet border checkpoint are intensifying their screening measures and have visitors to sanitize their hands and feet and use thermoscan infrared cameras to measure their body temperatures. In Si Sa Ket Province in the Thai Northeast, also bordering Cambodia, local health officials are teaching local people to protect themselves from the HFMD and have told staff of local nurseries to report any children with high temperatures immediately. Serious surveillance has also been conducted in Trang Province in the Thai South, where the epidemiology chief of Trang Hospital reported that over 200 patients with the HFMD have been recorded so far this year, including 70 patients in Muang District alone. (TNA)