Flu alert after two deaths

[Admin]

Flu alert after two deaths
By The Nation
2011-02-03

Two people died and at least 470 others fell ill with influenza last month, according to the Disease Control Department, which says the situation has become a worry.


Department chief Manit Theerathantikanon urged people yesterday to see a doctor immediately if they have flu symptoms such as a high fever that won't go away in two days, coughing, chest pain, and often gasping for breath.

The department's Bureau of Epidemiology adjusted its H1N1 influenza watch to be part of its general influenza monitoring for efficiency, he said, after the World Health Organisation (WHO) lowered its level of concern about the H1N1 flu outbreak and did the same.

Manit said the flu situation had declined since October last year and the number of people with flu-like symptoms at medical facilities was also stable at 6 per cent, while people with flu virus detected by labs was also stable in the first three weeks of January. But officials should still monitor things closely as January and February was the flu season.

He said that from January 1-22, there were 470 influenza patients and two deaths - which resulted from H1N1 influenza and were both from the same family, which also had problems with diabetes.

Chachoengsao and Samut Sakhon provinces had the most medical patients with flu-like symptoms at over 10 per cent of outpatients, he said.