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Published on December 30, 2007

This is due to the changes in the global climate, which affect the ecology and the dynamicity of the virus, the director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, Dr Kumnuan Ungchusak, said.

This may eventually lead to an abnormal increase in both the magnitude and severity of symptoms of diseases like dengue fever and hand-foot-and-mouth disease.

There were 60,625 cases of dengue this year with 83 deaths. A greater number of cases were reported in the highlands of the North, particularly among the hilltribes of Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. This year 1,007 people were infected with two deaths, against 179 cases and no deaths the previous year.

Normally, dengue outbreaks mainly occur in lowlands but their spread to the higher northern part might be caused by the change in the global climate, which affects the reproduction and survival of the Aedes mosquito and the dengue virus it carries.

That's why the virus could spread widely and infect humans easily in the highlands, Kumnuan said.

The Public Health Ministry has warned the public to cover water containers, which will reduce the breeding places for mosquitoes inside the house.

The ministry plans to host a conference on dengue fever next year, with scientists and health experts around the world invited to discuss and find ways of fighting the disease. The event is expected to be held in Phuket in October.

Kumnuan said the ministry will keep a close watch on the bird-flu virus next year.

Between 2003 and 2007, 25 people suffered from avian influenza and 17 of them died.

Although there have been no new cases in the country during the past year, the virus has spread widely in the region with new human cases in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and most recently a cluster of human cases in Pakistan.

With ongoing outbreaks in poultry and new human cases in the region, the ministry is worried the virus is continuing to develop and adapt into a human-to-human transmission mode instead of poultry-to-human as before.

Kumnuan expressed concern about hand-foot-and-mouth disease, which had spread rapidly over a large area.

It is caused by various viruses, including several types of coxackievirus A16, A5, A9, A10, B1,B3, and enterovirus 71.

If children, especially under 5, are infected with any of these viruses it could cause rashes and sores on the hands and feet and in the mouth. There could also be sore throat, irritability, decreased appetite and fever. In 2006, the ministry reported 3,810 cases of infections with 10 deaths. Most of the cases were found in kindergartens. This year the number of cases is three times higher.

The ministry has also warned about possible cholera outbreaks caused by contaminated food and water. It found 927 cases, seven of which resulted in deaths, during the year.

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation