H1N1 Latest info vis-a-vis Thailand

[Guest tdperhs]

As of 26/07/09, World Health Organization reports 6776 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Thailand alone with 44 deaths. This is the worst country in Southeast Asia. Precautions are definitely in order and hand washing alone is not sufficient.

 

Places and things one might be wary of:

Publicly used computer keyboards, mouses and mouse pads

elevator call and floor buttons

public toilets especially at bars and the beach

escalator and stair bannisters

all bar and restaurant facilities; dishes and utensils are washed in cold water. Insulator cups around beer and pop bottles are never washed and are great breeding grounds for germs

hospital and physician waiting rooms, especially emergency rooms

door handles, especially the unseeable side of refrigerator door handles, which are seldom cleaned well

light switches and their cover plates

pens at banks

and anywhere else you put your hands or any other bodyparts.

 

Remember, none of the local boys or girls are going to miss a chance to make some money just because they are feeling a little under the weather.

 

Of course this is by no means a comprehensive list. Feel free to add to it. Most of all, BE SAFE! The life you save may be mine.

[Guest Oogleman]

today the toll rose to 66 deaths - 50% increase in a week. lets hope that rate of increase slows down quickly.

[Guest]

My understanding is that this flu is less dangerous that past ones. I am wrong in this? And, it mostly affects the young and the elderly and those with other factors which lead to lower immune system. For those that are not in those groups, it is not deadly. Is this correct?

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Thai Prenatal Flu Infection Case Details Sent to WHO

 

Writer: APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL

Published: 28/07/2009

 

Scientific and medical details of Thailand's first case of a fetus being infected with type-A (H1N1) flu by the mother have been sent to the World Health Organisation for study.

 

The 26-year-old mother, who had the flu, gave birth in Ratchaburi on Saturday. She was later transferred by helicopter to Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok.

 

Chulalongkorn Hospital director Adisorn Patradul said yesterday the mother was still in critical condition with a lung infection and was on a respirator, but her baby was recovering from the flu.

 

The baby, born premature at seven months after a cesarean section, was found to have caught the flu from the mother. It is the first case of prenatal infection with A (H1N1) flu contracted from the mother in Thailand.

 

Dr. Adisorn said it was possible the baby contracted the flu from the mother through the placenta, amniotic fluid and blood which contained the virus.

 

Only three cases of mother-to-child transmission of A (H1N1) have been reported in the US and further scientific study is necessary to understand how this happens, he said.

 

The Public Health Ministry has been looking to improve flu drug distribution to solve the problem of delayed treatment at large hospitals, which could result in fatalities among patients with flu.

 

Short-term monitoring of medical records by the ministry showed an estimated 30% of the flu deaths in Thailand were caused by delays in the patients receiving medicinal treatment.

 

"Anti-flu drugs will be supplied to every hospital and clinic across the country, regardless of whether they are private or state ones," Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodee said. "Clinical practices will also be closely monitored to ensure patients are completely cured and the number of deaths reduced."

 

A total of 800,000 pills of oseltamivir would be distributed to clinics across the country each day, which would cover about 80,000 patients, Mr Manit said.

 

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation would supply flu medicines to about 2,100 private clinics in Bangkok daily, while about 14,900 clinics upcountry could obtain the drugs from provincial hospitals, he said. Each clinic would receive 50 tablets of anti-viral medicine a day.

 

Mr. Manit insisted the country had enough reserves of anti-viral drugs to treat the population and 99% of type-A (H1N1) patients were completely cured.

 

It was necessary for people to take good care of themselves and seek hospital treatment within two days if their flu-like fever does not go away.

 

Self-medication is strongly advised against among those with pre-existing health complications, he said.

[Guest tdperhs]

My understanding is that this flu is less dangerous that past ones. I am wrong in this? And, it mostly affects the young and the elderly and those with other factors which lead to lower immune system. For those that are not in those groups, it is not deadly. Is this correct?

Correct!

 

And, as you know, many people on this forum are in that high risk category, especially since many are being treated for some other condition and that treatment could very well conflict with any treatment for the flu. You young uns have a little more latitude to take chances. But still, you should't.

[Guest fountainhall]

it mostly affects the young and the elderly and those with other factors which lead to lower immune system

 

Is this really correct? I know it affects the young and those with lower immune systems, but everything I have read stresses that healthy older people are at no greater risk than they are with a standard flu bug. In fact, some reports suggest that healthy older people are less at risk!

 

This is an excerpt from London's The guardian newspaper which I posted on another thread less than a week ago. It is from a report by the Chief Medical Officer of England -

 

Unlike normal seasonal flu, which is a threat primarily to the pneumonia-prone elderly, the H1N1 virus appears to affect the young more severely. Of those who have died in England, a third were under the age of 15 while only 17% of fatalities have been among pensioners.

 

Within the same sample of 26 deaths, two-thirds of the victims had what were described as pre-existing "severe conditions" such as leukaemia, and only 16% were described as fully "healthy"

[Guest buckeroo2]

Is this really correct? I know it affects the young and those with lower immune systems, but everything I have read stresses that healthy older people are at no greater risk than they are with a standard flu bug. In fact, some reports suggest that healthy older people are less at risk!

 

I am going on memory here but I saw a feature on one of the international news stations the other day that specifically said the H1N1 virus is affecting the elderly with uncompromised immunity systems less adversely than younger people. They think that might be due to the fact that the last swine flu virus occured in 1976 and many older people built up some immunity to that virus so it appears this latest virus does not affect this group of people as harshly as it does those not previously exposed.

[Guest Patexpat]

This was emailed to me by my friend Dr Phillipe a couple of weeks ago:

 

For Your Information,

 

As you may know already, World Pandemic Novel Flu 2009 : A (H1N1 ) Influenza hits now, with 24 deaths on 4,057 confirmed cases in Thailand, as of 14 July 2009 ( see appendix 1 )

 

Everybody should be aware about warning signs, like difficulty of breathing, if signs of Flu, so to report to Health Care Center . ( see appendix 2 )

 

Confirmation is done starting with simple Nasal or Throat swab screening, as other diagnosis including seasonal Flu have to be kept into consideration.

 

In case of strong suspicion or confirmed case, isolation and treatment with Oseltamivir-Tamiflu* 75 mg oral x 2 times per day for 5 days , best effective if given within 48 hours after onset, Aspirine is not recommended as Paracetamol is used for fever control. Other treatments can be given according to clinical evolution ( see appendix 3, 4, 6, 7 )

 

Most of the cases, i.e. big majority of cases recover fortunately well.

 

Oseltamivir-Tamiflu* 75 mg oral x 1 time / day is also given for prevention of Novel Flu to persons who were in close contact of confirmed case ( Post-Exposure Prophylaxis) .

 

Presently, besides Public Authorities recommendations, especially in public areas like schools / if cases declared

[Guest joseph44]

With 'normal' flues, elderly and very young people are at high risk.

 

With this flu ((A)H1N1) , I've heard and read about two high risk groups:

- people between 15 and 35 are at high risk

- people born after 1957 don't seem to have developed a certain immunity against this flu.

[Gaybutton]

This article does not say whether this will also apply to farang.

 

The following appears in THE NATION:

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Govt to Distribute Free Flu Medicine through Clinics

 

By Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

Published on July 31, 2009

 

The government will provide the antiviral drug oselamivir to patients with influenza-like symptoms free of charge at private clinics around the country.

Meanwhile, foreign firms, embassies and international organisations will be allowed to stockpile oseltamivir for their emergency use against the pandemic of type-A (H1N1) flu.

 

The handout of free medicine is aimed at preventing more fatalities of people infected by the virus, which has already killed 71 people as of yesterday. Seven people are in intensive care units.

 

Over 800,000 tablets of oselamivir will be handed out to medical clinics by mid-August, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said yesterday.

 

"These clinics should not charge patients for oseltamivir as the government will foot the bill," he said.

 

Having concluded that some healthy persons died from the flu because they were not treated with the drug or were given it too late, the government is now encouraging doctors and clinics to dispense the medicine as soon as patients show serious flu symptoms.

 

Clinics that get the state-sponsored drug are also required to collect detailed information about their patients and use a referral system so that patients can be transferred to appropriate hospitals.

 

Initially, each clinic will get 50 tablets of oselamivir.

 

Medical Registration Division's director Dr Tara Chinakarn said only 8,700 of 17,000 clinics nationwide and 2,000 clinics in Bangkok are competent to dispense the antiviral drug to patients with flu-like symptoms.

 

Regarding the move to allow foreign organisations to bring in anti-flu drugs, the Public Health Ministry said local units of the World Health Organisation and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, for example, are not required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to import medicines at this time.

 

The FDA said each foreign organisation may import antiviral drugs for 20-30 per cent of their local employees. The drugs can be stored at a hospital and will be prescribed only by doctors.

 

In a related development, a 16-year-old girl who is two-months pregnant suffered a miscarriage after being infected with the type-A (H1N1) virus.

 

The Health Ministry is now drafting guidelines for physicians to provide special care for pregnant women who are admitted to hospital.

 

Dr Tawee Chotepitayasunon, head of the Public Health Ministry's influenza team, said the guidelines would be released next week.

 

However, he advised pregnant women to seek medical help immediately after developing flu-like symptoms, which include fever above 38.5 Celsius.

 

The Department of Mental Health said public panic over swine flu had lessened.

 

"We found that people in Bangkok had a better understanding than those living upcountry. That's a good sign in terms of communication [about the disease]," department director Dr Chatree Banchuen said.

[Guest fountainhall]

Interesting how different countries report on the new 'flu and how differently peoples are reacting to it. In Hong Kong for a few days, I have hardly seen anything in the newspapers and hardly anyone is wearing a face mask. Mention it, and everyone says they know all about it and they're not worried. Mind you, there are antiseptic hand wash dispensers almost everywhere and almost everyone uses them.

 

I find this interesting because Hong Kong was one of the worst to be affected by SARS and absolutely everyone then wore masks. It does seem as though the public health authorites here are handling swine flu better than their counterparts in Thailand.

[Guest Oogleman]

Each desk at my London workplace was issued with 3 bottles of hand gel yesterday and some leaflets. They advise us that the Autumn will bring a huge surge in victims/sufferers and to get int the habit of washing hands our frequently ( as often as once an hour) before then. Masks have been stocked but not yet issued.

 

Given the size of my organisation they are spending a hell of a lot of cash. Somebodies worried!