Somsak confident cholera outbreak can be prevented in Thailand
Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Tuesday expressed confidence that his ministry can prevent a cholera outbreak from spreading into Thailand from neighboring Myanmar.
Somsak stated that the Public Health Ministry has provided 3,500 doses of cholera vaccine to build immunity among residents in the border town of Mae Ramat district, Tak province.
Mae Ramat is located opposite Shawe Kokko in Myanmar, where the outbreak originated.
He explained that each resident would receive two doses of the vaccine over two weeks, providing immunity against cholera for six months.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered a temporary one-month closure of the Thailand-Myanmar border in Tak to help contain the spread of the disease.
Somsak expressed confidence that the situation in Thailand is under control. However, reports indicate that approximately 7,000 people in Yangon, Arakan, Mandalay, and Mon State in Myanmar have contracted cholera.
In Shawe Kokko alone, around 300 cholera cases have been reported, while Mae Sot district in Thailand has identified four cases—two involving Thai nationals and two involving Myanmar citizens.
The Thai government has also sent 24,000 cholera treatment pills, sufficient for approximately 2,400 patients, to Myanmar via the Mae Ramat district hospital.
The minister advised Thais to eat only thoroughly cooked food prepared at a minimum temperature of 74 degrees Celsius to kill bacteria and to drink only boiled water, which should reach 100 degrees Celsius.
