Health office warns of rainy-season dangers

PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) yesterday issued a warning for people to be wary of five types of aliments that are more prevalent during the rainy season, which is now fully upon us.

PPHO officer Arunee Suphanam warned people to take better care to avoid contracting diarrhea, infections in open wounds, colds and pneumonia, mosquito-borne diseases and conjunctivitis, also known as “pink eye”.

“People in Phuket should be wary of these five types of ailments, which are always more common in the rainy season,” K. Arunee said.

“Diarrhea is the most common affliction in Phuket… The second most common problem is infections in wounds, such as leptospirosis, a bacterial disease which causes high temperatures, headaches and muscle pain.”

K. Arunee also warned against diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue fever, Japanese Encephalitis (JE virus) and malaria.

“In the first five months of this year, 81 people in Phuket caught dengue fever. One person died from it. Thalang District has had the highest incidence in Phuket,” K. Arunee said.

“Dengue is most prevalent in June and July because of the heavy rains. To protect against dengue people should cover water storage containers and change water standing in containers every seven days,” she added.

“The last disease to beware of is conjunctivitis, which can develop after the eyes come in contact with the virus, which is found in dirty water,” K. Arunee said.

People still had to be vigilant against bird flu, he added.

“Although there are no recorded cases of people contracting bird flu in Phuket, we should not be careless because both people and animals in neighboring countries have come down with the disease,” she warned.

“To protect against disease in general, people should exercise often, wear warm clothes, wash theirs hands before eating and drink clean water,” K. Arunee said.