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Published on October 23, 2005 - Four new possible cases reported in hard-hit Kanchanaburi
Remarks made by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday angered public-health advocates, who insist that the government is misleading the public about the scale of the danger posed by the H5N1 virus and thereby putting the country at much greater risk. Following confirmation this week of two more human H5N1 infections in Kanchanaburi province’s Phanom Thuan district, the prime minister devoted considerable time during his weekly radio address yesterday telling people not to panic. “We have been quick to control the disease,” Thaksin said. “We are taking a pro-active approach. We are re-examining all the 21 provinces that were affected during the first and second outbreaks and have found that only 15 areas in four provinces have witnessed a re-emergence of the bird flu this time.” Senator Niran Pitakwatchara argued yesterday that the fact that the latest bird-flu fatality had occurred in Phanom Thuan - where the country’s first bird-flu death occurred last year - was a sign that the government’s measures to contain the disease had been ineffective. “A new bird-flu death in the same district only means one thing, that the government has failed to control the virus,” Niran said. “In fact it is mere luck that we have not had any further fatalities [since last October] until Wednesday. “The re-emergence of bird flu means the disease hasn’t been eradicated, it has come back again and will continue to do so, but Thaksin wants people to think we’re getting rid of the problem.” Niran, who is also a doctor of medicine, said the prime minister was approaching the problem of bird flu in the same way as he approached the violence in the deep South. “He gives people false assurances that the government has things under control. Thaksin is afraid to admit the truth because all he cares about is his financial investors’ confidence,” he said. Meanwhile four more cases of suspected bird flu were reported yesterday. Samarn Haoherm, a 48-year-old neighbour of Bang-orn Benphad - who died of bird flu on Wednesday - was taken to Than Chao Khun Paiboon Hospital in Phanom Thuan. The three other suspected cases were reported by Paholphonyuhasaena Hospital in Kanchanaburi, with the youngest amongst them a three-year-old girl. Doctors said they were all under medical supervision and close observation. Public Health Minister Suchai Charoenratanakul assured the public that the government has 1,300 rapid surveillance teams and 800,000 village-health volunteers at its disposal to monitor bird flu. The country has also prepared 600,000 tablets of anti-viral Tamiflu and 200,000 doses of an unspecified vaccine, he said. Virologists have questioned Suchai’s remark about the vaccine because an H5N1 vaccine has not yet been found. Professor Prasert Thongcharoen of Siriraj Hospital said the United States and a number of other developed countries were still trying to develop a vaccine to combat the possible pandemic. The professor added that Thailand does not have the capacity to make such a vaccine at the present. Virapong Kriengsinyos, director of the Thai Holistic Health Foundation, questioned Thaksin’s leadership in regards to the handling of the crisis. He said that although the premier had not completely denied the existence of H5N1 as he did at the beginning of the outbreak in 2003, Thaksin was still trying to play down the seriousness of the situation. “The World Health Organisation has repeatedly warned that millions of people could die from the pandemic, so where are the public instructions to help prevent us from getting sick and spreading the disease?” he asked. “We all know Thailand could be at ground zero of the outbreak if we mishandle the problem. The key to containing the disease is arming people with knowledge so that they can protect themselves. I would really like to ask the prime minister if he wants Thailand to be remembered as the place where the pandemic outbreak began.” Virapong added that the government’s reluctance to come clean meant that doctors and public health officials were afraid to speak out on the topic, adding that a number of his doctor friends in the Public Health Ministry had kept purposefully quiet when asked about bird flu. “I have a lot of respect for doctors and I would like them to think about their jobs first and prioritise people’s health, not the government. Responsibilities should come above everything else,” he said. Niran agreed, adding that Thaksin should stop trying to conceal the truth and allow doctors and virologists to do their jobs unimpeded by politics. Nantiya Tangwisutijit |