Bangkok, May 15 (IANS). Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee on Friday approved declaring Hantavirus a ‘dangerous infectious disease’.
According to the Health Ministry, under the new rule, officials will have to provide information about suspected cases within three hours. Testing will have to be initiated within 12 hours and high-risk contacts will be kept in strict quarantine for 42 days.
Xinhua News Agency reported that the ministry’s statement said that Hanta virus can spread through fine particles exhaled with breath. Some strains also have the ability to spread from person to person. Now it has become a big concern and serious threat all over the world. For this reason it has been kept in the category of dangerous disease.
To take rapid and coordinated action, the Ministry has implemented a special action plan focusing on surveillance, lab testing, treatment and local preparedness.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Somruek Chungsaman said that the Health Department is increasing surveillance at international entry points. At the same time, the Disease Control Department is completing the process of immediately investigating the cases found within the country and determining the definition of ‘Patients Under Investigation’. Along with this, quarantine rules will also be strictly implemented.
Somruek said that provincial health offices and hospitals across the country have been instructed to keep strict vigil. All hospitals have been asked to report suspected cases within three hours. Review treatment protocols and immediately provide necessary information to local people.
He appealed to the people that if anyone has a history of coming in contact with rats or has recently returned from a high-risk area and is experiencing high fever or difficulty in breathing, then contact a doctor immediately. This will allow early identification of the disease and prevent its spread.
Hantaviruses are a group of viruses that are commonly found in rats and other rodents and can cause serious disease in humans. The infection is usually spread through contact with infected rats or their urine, feces or saliva. Its spread from person to person is rarely seen.
Hantavirus infection in humans most often occurs through contact with the urine, feces, or saliva of infected rats or by touching contaminated surfaces. This danger is especially high in places where there is an infestation of rats, such as while cleaning old buildings. Its cases are seen more in rural areas like forests, fields and farms, because there is more presence of rats and risk of infection.
–IANS
AY/ABM
