Sizzling heat in March, April claims 30 lives in Thailand
The searing heat has killed 30 people, so far, in March and April, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said.
Dr Wirarat Manosutthi, the DDC spokesman, said on Wednesday that heatstroke appears to be taking far more lives this year than last year. Last year, 37 people succumbed to heatstroke from March to June.
Advising people to drink at least two glasses of water every hour, the doctor said people should stay indoors and wear light clothes. He also advised people to rush to see a doctor if they feel shortness of breath or dizziness.
Wirarat was speaking to reporters at a press conference he and DDC deputy director-general Jurai Wongsawat called on Wednesday to announce the latest health situation in the country and at a refugee camp in Tak’s Mae Sot district.
Jurai said 142 of 906 refugees in the camp had sought medical treatment on April 20-21. Of them, 22 suffered from diarrhoea, one from conjunctivitis, 116 from other conditions and three had wounds, she said.
Jurai added that 289 refugees were checked and only one 10-year-old boy was found with malaria of the plasmodium vivax strain, which is not virulent.
She added that DDC fears influenza cases will rise when the new school starts in May. Earlier this year, 128,156 people were diagnosed with influenza, but the number has gone down during the hot months, she said, adding that the numbers may rise during the rainy season.
As for dengue, she said 24,108 cases have been reported and most patients were in the five to 14 age group. She said 22 patients have died from dengue fever this year.
As for measles, 463 cases have been reported from January 1 to April 19, with no casualties. She added that most cases were reported in the South, where Muslim parents refuse to get their children vaccinated for fear it will violate their religious beliefs, even though the Sheikul Islam Office has repeatedly said Muslim children can be vaccinated.
