Phuket top province for Dengue Fever outbreak

PHUKET: Phuket is now listed as the highest ranking province in Thailand for Dengue Fever outbreaks, Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Deputy Chief Dr Krit Sakulpat confirmed to the Phuket Gazete today.

Despite the ranking, there is no reason to panic, said Dr Krit.

“For the statistic, the number of patients is divided by the registered population, which in Phuket is only about 300,000 people. However, in reality there are about a million people living in Phuket, so the use of the registered population number skews the statistic,” he explained.

There have been more than 1,300 people infected in Phuket since January this year – double the amount of infections over the same period of time last year, he said.

However, both the Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Director of Patong Hospital told the Gazette today that the situation is under control.

“We have a medical team that is only taking care of Dengue Fever patients,” said Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa.

“Any patient who is diagnosed with dengue and has a blood platelet count lower than 100,000 will be admitted to hospital. Normally, people will have a count of more than 400,000,” Dr Silpa-archa said.

Earlier this month, PPHO Director Bancha Kakong explained that the number of patients in Phuket diagnosed with Dengue Fever reached the highest level in 20 years (story here).

“We are continuing to urge people to cover or throw out standing water to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in it. We also advise people to use mosquito repellent when they go out,” Dr Bancha said.

Dr Bancha asked that anyone fearing that he or she might have contracted Dengue Fever, avoid using Aspirin and Brufen and report to a hospital two days after the first symptoms appear.

“We have free Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) clinics in every government hospital,” Dr Bancha said.

“The most dangerous time for a Dengue Fever patient is not when he is running a high fever, but after the fever fades and the patient feels tired,” Dr Bancha warned.

— Chutharat Plerin