Dengue fever cases surge across 18 provinces in Thailand
Dengue fever cases are on the rise in Thailand, with the Department of Disease Control reporting an increase in 18 provinces including Chon Buri, Phuket, and Bangkok. A high-level digital meeting was conducted yesterday, overseen by Taret Krassanairawiwong, the Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health. In this, they discussed the rising tide of dengue cases with public health officials from 30 districts across 18 provinces.
Taret highlighted in his remarks that for the past eight weeks, an increase in dengue cases has been recorded in several Thai provinces. This includes Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Phayao, Tak, Phetchaburi, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Krabi, Phuket, Songkhla, Satun, Narathiwat, and the capital, Bangkok.
This concerning trend has triggered scrutiny as the count of dengue infections over the last four weeks has surpassed the average count from the prior five-year period during the same timeline. Taret pointed out that this indicated that the concerned regions are perilously close to being labelled as dengue epidemic zones.
To control the situation and prevent further escalation, Taret has tasked all associated government organisations with providing academic support and resources to help reduce the number of dengue cases on an urgent basis. The Department of Disease Control is also partnering with the Ministry of the Interior to deploy more personnel to fight against the disease’s spread.
According to the Communicable Diseases Act of 2015 (B.E. 2558), dengue fever has been identified as a communicable disease that mandates regular surveillance. This legislation empowers the Director-General of the Department of Disease Control to designate regions with high and sustained dengue incidences as epidemic zones if deemed necessary.
This designation implies that under these specific regional circumstances, public health officers can legally gain access to properties, places, or vehicles suspected or confirmed to be undergoing an epidemic outbreak to implement surveillance and disease management procedures.
Such intervention may involve conducting mosquito breeding site surveys, eliminating breeding grounds, and applying chemical sprays to exterminate mosquitoes in various places like homes, temples, schools, hotels, or other areas that may usually have restricted access, reports The Pattaya News.
