Flu cases down but govt remains wary

Despite previous comments by Medical Council of Thailand president Prof Somsak Lolekha that a second outbreak of 2009 flu was unlikely, Witthaya said many epidemic experts still believe it could be possible around the end of the rainy season.

The Public Health Ministry was being cautious, getting ready to tackle a 2009 flu outbreak and campaigning for disease prevention. It had learned much from the previous outbreak's early stages, but there was no clear data regarding how many people had been infected or had developed immunity against the new flu, he said.

He would consult with provincial public health chiefs in each region, especially those with experience of the disease to get useful guidelines.

He said that currently there were fewer patients infected by type-A (H1N1) influenza and hospitals were back to normal, possibly because the public had taken preventive action to protect themselves, the weather had become hotter, and the oseltamivir drug distribution was faster. He speculated that since the number of patients was down, the number of deaths should also decrease.

In related news, Nakhon Si Thammarat reported that a 36-year-old man, hospitalised since August 20 and later confirmed by lab results to have the 2009 flu, died yesterday morning from lung infection.

 Maharat Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital currently has one child seriously ill from the virus and 14 other non-critical cases.