Thailand follows WHO move against flu outbreaks in Hong Kong

NONTHABURI, THAILAND, July 26 (TNA) - To comply with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Thai government, through the Ministry of Public Health, has not issued any advisory against Thai people's visits to Hong Kong, where there are outbreaks of the H3N2 strain A of human influenza. The Department of Disease Control, under the Ministry of Public Health, issued the official statement on Wednesday, in response to media reports that hundreds of people in Hong Kong have died from the spreading H3N2 strain A human flu so far. According to the official statement, the Thai Ministry of Public Health has complied with WHO by not issuing any official advisory against travels to Hong Kong, but advising people of risk groups, including pregnant women, young children aged six months to two years, patients with persistent ailments like heart diseases, asthma, cancer, cerebrovascular disorders and kidney failure, to consult with their doctors and to have themselves vaccinated against flu strains before their departure to Hong Kong. Besides, people who need to travel to Hong Kong, especially those of the risk groups, are advised to avoid visiting crowded places and contacting with patients, but frequently washing their hands with clean water and soaps, wearing face masks as a precaution, immediately seeing doctors if feeling ill and suspending activities in crowded places until fully recovering. The official statement noted that the current outbreaks of the H3N2 strain A of human influenza in Hong Kong is a seasonal phenomenon with no mutation of the deadly flu strain. "The Thai Ministry of Public Health has closely monitored updates and has constantly co-ordinated with the public health authority in Hong Kong for timely and appropriate actions", the official statement indicated. Meanwhile, official statistics show that there have been more than 43,000 flu cases in Thailand since early this year, five of them have died. Most of the flu patients are in the group of 15-24 years old (11.4 per cent), followed by those in the groups of 25-34 years old (10.7 per cent) and 10-14 years old (10.6 per cent) respectively. (TNA)