Health ministry warns Thais over yellow fever outbreak in South America

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported Friday that six people had been infected and five had died, the directorgeneral of the Department of Disease Control Dr Thawat Suntrajar reported yesterday.

"People travelling to Brazil are advised to be vaccinated at least 10 days before going to any highrisk area," he said.

Yellow fever is a contagious disease and infection can be passed on from the bite of the aedes mosquito, which can also transmit dengue haemorrhag¬ic fever.

Symptoms are characterised by a sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, generalised muscle pain, weakness, nausea, and vomiting.

Common haemorrhagic symptoms include nasal bleed¬ing, bleeding gums, black vomit, and black stools.

Jaundice is moderate early in the course of the disease, but intensifies later. Most patients die from hepatic and renal fail¬ure. There is no specific treat¬ment for yellow fever.

To prevent the spread of the virus, Thawat said he had ordered all sixty international communicable disease control offices along borders and ports to check passengers arriving from infected areas. Anyone without a valid vaccination cer¬tificate against yellow fever will be kept under surveillance for a period of six days.

If the situation in highrisk areas including Brazil worsens, the health ministry will send officials to monitor the disease and check on all passengers who are travelling to Thailand, he said.

These are high risk areas; Angola, Benin, Burkina faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Cote D'lvoire, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ethiopia, Guineabaissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saotome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania.

Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia Ecuador, Guyana, FrenchGuiana, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Suriname, Republic of Trinidad and Tobacco.

by Pongphon  Sarnsamak

The Nation