Asean worker influx stirs fear of ‘diseases returning’

THE SOARING labour migration in the region following the implementation of the Asean Economic Community may increase the risks of people contracting many diseases in Thailand including leprosy, the Disease Control Department has warned. 

If migrant babysitters and elderly caretakers come from neighbouring nations and have leprosy, there is a real risk the disease will be spread to the those under their care, department specialist Dr Krisada Mahotan said yesterday.

Krisada highlighted those jobs because they would involve very close contact between disease sufferers and Thais over a long period.

Medical experts from various fields came together yesterday to warn that there were no boundaries for pathogens. 

“We are worried that the establishment of the AEC will push up the number of leprosy patients on Thai soil,” Dermatological Society of Thailand president Noppadon Noppakun said.

Leprosy is a contagious disease that affects the skin, mucous membranes and nerves, causing discoloration and lumps on the skin and, in severe cases, disfigurement and deformities. 

Thousands of Thais were once infected with the disease each year but health authorities have successfully controlled its spread in recent decades. Last year, 187 were found to have contracted leprosy. 

“Of that number, 39 were migrant workers,” Krisada said. 

But the number of leprosy cases reported in Myanmar reached 2,950 last year. 

“This means when more people cross borders, there will be a higher risk of leprosy in Thailand,” Krisada said. 

He advised employers to be on the lookout for workers with skin conditions.

He said if a worker was suspected of having leprosy, the employer should bring them to a doctor for treatment. 

“Don’t fire him or her. Treatments can cure the symptoms and prevent the spread of the disease,” he said. 

Noppadon said the risk of elephantiasis, Leishmaniasis and sexually-transmitted diseases could also become more common after the AEC’s implementation. 

Dr Rattiya Techakajornkiat, a medical specialist on STDs and epidemiology, said statistics between 2011 and 2014 suggested there had been an increasing number of Thailand-based Cambodian, Myanmar and Laotian workers with syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia. 

Asst Prof Dr Jittima Dhitavat from Mahidol University warned Thais to take precautions against Leishmaniasis and elephantiasis. 

“Leishmaniasis is no longer a disease only affecting Thais who travelled overseas for work or leisure trips,” she said. “Now, the disease affects even those who have always been in Thailand because of the growing number of migrants.” 

She said illegal migrant workers usually did not undergo blood tests and might sneak into the country with elephantiasis. 

“Mosquitoes are the carriers of elephantiasis,” she said. 

Jittima recommended applying mosquito-repellent cream to the skin and using mosquito nets at home.