Thailand is ‘ready’ for Deltacron, says Anutin
The public health minister says Thailand is prepared to deal with any new variant of the coronavirus including the newly emerged Deltacron that is now being closely watched by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Anutin Charnvirakul, deputy prime minister and public health minister, said his ministry has prepared the necessary medical tools, vaccines and drugs to ensure it can fight the virus no matter how it may mutate.
Anutin said he believed the government’s COVID-19 preventive measures – social distancing, mask-wearing, hand washing and so on – are still effective.
“We are not worried about any new strains as long as our people have strictly followed the ministry’s guidelines and have not lowered their guard in preventing infection,” he said.
Deltacron was first reported earlier this year when it was thought to be a co-infection of the Omicron and Delta variants. On Mar 16, the WHO started tracking Deltacron, but has yet to designate it as a variant of concern – nor has it officially named it. Researchers believe it is a single, hybrid variant that combines genes from Delta and Omicron.
DENGUE CONCERNS
Meanwhile, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) is warning that this year’s seasonal outbreak of dengue may be more severe than usual, following three early deaths in 2022 – already half the tally for the whole of 2021.
“Every year the incidence of dengue, along with that of other diseases such as diarrhoea and heat stroke, rises sharply as summer approaches,” said Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the DDC, on Sunday (Mar 20).
“Last year only six people died because of dengue while this year three dengue deaths have been reported in just the first three months,” he said.
These deaths were all among patients who were either recovering from, or were being actively treated for, COVID-19, he added.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were found to be a contributing factor in the severity of the mosquito-borne disease in the deaths, he said.
As a result, those who develop a high fever and other flu-like symptoms are being advised to avoid taking NSAIDs and instead take paracetamol.
Even though most patients who catch dengue are children and adolescents, most denguerelated deaths are among the elderly, people living with a chronic disease and the obese, Dr Opas said.
Getting rid of sources of mosquitoes including containers with standing water is one of the most effective ways people can lower the number of mosquitos in their living areas and reduce the incidence of the disease through mosquito bites, he said.
While most people focus on the prevention of COVID-19, the risk of catching dengue fever tends to be overlooked, he said.