A TV reporter covering the red-shirt rally in Bangkok has come down with type-A(H1N1) influenza but is in safe condition.
"We are now checking where she caught the disease," Deputy Governor Malinee Sukvejvorakij said yesterday.
"She had moved to various areas, so she might have caught the virus from the rally or elsewhere. We cannot be sure at this point," Dr Malinee said.
Her case has raised concerns for the health of red-shirt demonstrators who have camped out on Bangkok streets for more than a week now.
"The risk of infection is higher in crowded areas," she said.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has no plan to raise the issue with red-shirt leaders since the move could be seen as an attempt to scare away the demonstrators, she said.
"Besides, the red shirts have doctors on site. One of their leaders is also a medical doctor, Dr Weng Tojirakarn," she said.
Weng said his Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) had provided medical help to demonstrators who fell ill.
"If their symptoms are serious, we send them to hospitals. None has had type-A(H1N1) flu," he said.
Diarrhoea and heat exhaustion were the most common afflictions at the rally site, he said.
Protest leaders also had no plan to alert the demonstrators about the risk of (H1N1) flu.
"We are worried it may cause panic," he said.
If city officials formally contact the red-shirt leaders, they would be welcome to conduct random tests on the demonstrators, he said.
Malinee said that since the DAAD rally started in Bangkok, 60-70 people a day have been seeking medical care.
"Most of them have caught a cold," she said.
