Published on June 24, 2005

The Public Health Ministry yesterday called a meeting of health personnel from across the country to prepare measures for the possible spread of any new disease that is a mutation of the influenza and bird-flu viruses.

Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul, who called the meeting of 340 senior health officials, said that although the number of influenza patients in Thailand was at a normal level – about 3,000 per month – the country would heed the World Health Organisation’s warning concerning a possible mutation.

He said the country also had to be prepared for the possibility of the H5N1 strain, or bird flu, mutating and spreading from human to human.

Health officials have been instructed to immediately set up strict controls if a mutation is discovered and work together to prevent it spreading, he said.

Disease Control Department director-general Dr Thawat Suntrajarn reported at the meeting that from December 26, 2003 to June 17 this year there had been a combined 107 bird-flu cases and 54 deaths in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Thirty-eight of those deaths were in Vietnam, 12 in Thailand and four in Cambodia.

The last bird-flu patient in Thailand was detected on October 8 last year.

Disease-control measures will include quickly setting up investigation and prevention teams in every district, so that laboratory work can be conducted within 24 hours in areas where there is a suspected bird-flu outbreak.

Some 135,000 people will also be recruited for culling teams, with each vaccinated against influenza.

About 85,000 doses of the influenza vaccine will be held in reserve.

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