PM Anutin confirms no Nipah case in Thailand, urges Covid-era monitoring model
Thailand has intensified health screening and surveillance after reports of the Nipah virus in India, with authorities stressing the infection spreads through bodily fluids rather than the air and advising the public to maintain basic hygiene and limit close contact.
- Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has confirmed that there are currently no cases of the Nipah virus in Thailand.
- Thailand is implementing enhanced public health monitoring and screening measures modelled after the strategies used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- These measures include stricter screening for travellers arriving from countries considered to be at higher risk.
- The public is urged to follow hygiene practices and remain vigilant, as there is no specific vaccine or treatment for the virus.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday (January 25) that Thailand has stepped up public-health monitoring and screening measures in response to the Nipah virus situation in India, using approaches similar to those applied during the Covid-19 period.
The Ministry of Public Health has been instructed to provide prompt information to the public to prevent unnecessary alarm.
Based on briefings received, the disease spreads through contact with bodily fluids, rather than airborne transmission.
Daily life can continue as normal, provided people follow familiar hygiene practices such as eating hot food, using serving spoons, and washing hands frequently.
The Prime Minister also urged the public to reduce close physical contact where possible, suggesting non-contact greetings, similar to practices adopted during the Covid-19 period.
Thailand has not recorded its first case so far, but authorities remain cautious.
Vigilance should be heightened above normal levels because there is no specific treatment and no vaccine, with symptoms potentially becoming more severe if the infection progresses.
For visitors arriving from India, Thailand will maintain surveillance measures and apply stricter screening for travellers coming from countries considered higher-risk.
