A city worker
sprays with a fumigator to kill mosquitoes in an effort to control the Zika
virus at a school in Bangkok on September 14. Thai health authorities have
confirmed cases of microcephaly in two babies were caused by the Zika virus.
Photo: AFP
Two weeks after ASEAN health ministers agreed
to step up the sharing of information on the Zika virus, the most informed and
credible data about ASEAN countries is from the other side of the world. Not
only are Thailand’s Public Health Ministry and its counterparts doling out
information like it was rationed, the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has better, more credible advice. This disconcerting situation is
unacceptable.
Late last week, the Thai health ministry
confirmed Zika infections had caused microcephaly in two newborns. This tragic
defect, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads, is well
known in the Americas, but is new to Southeast Asia. But as a consequence of an
outbreak in Singapore, authorities promised to take control of information for
the entire ASEAN region.
Two weeks ago, the 10 ASEAN ministers of
health held a teleconference to address the Zika virus threat. Public Health
Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn claimed the ministers would “make monitoring
and detection fast and accurate”. Since that session, grandiosely named the
ASEAN Health Ministers’ Special Video Conference, no results have been evident.
Here is a dramatic example of expectations
deflated. Immediately after the September 19 conference, Mr Piyasakol talked
tough. He would order house owners to get rid of mosquito larvae. Any failures
would bring “a maximum fine” on charges of allowing the spread of an infectious
and dangerous disease. One awaits the order, followed quickly by the first
harsh example.
There is currently neither a preventative
vaccine nor any type of relief or cure for the Zika virus. The same is true of
other diseases carried and transmitted by the aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue is
more deadly than the Zika virus, which usually causes a few days of discomfort
to its victims. But the harm of Zika is that it passes from mother to child and
causes deformities. An infected woman need not even be pregnant at the time of
a Zika attack, since the virus will linger as a danger for months and possibly
years. The virus may also cause the Guillain-Barre syndrome and other
neurological conditions.
This is why the CDC last week declared the
Zika virus as “endemic” throughout virtually all of ASEAN. It advised not just
pregnant women, but almost all women of child-bearing age to “postpone
nonessential travel” to Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam.
But the insidious Zika virus also involves
males. Men with partners who are pregnant or considering pregnancy who travel
to ASEAN “should talk to their medical provider on how to avoid sexual
transmission of Zika infection to their partners”, said the CDC.
None of the above has been passed from this
government to Thai citizens. Of course, the travel industry will not face this
current truth. Visitors might actually value their own health and their
children’s over a holiday in Thailand. Holding back all public disclosure of
the CDC’s announcements certainly does not match the public promises by Dr
Piyasakol and his ASEAN colleagues to share data and step up research.
The constant reaction of this government to
withhold vital information has run in parallel with its refusal to consult the
public on important matters. “Don’t panic” is not an acceptable response to the
Zika outbreak and to the discovery of infections in newborn babies.
An anti-mosquito campaign, complete with
widespread information campaigns, is overdue, as are Dr Piyasakol’s threatened
heavy fines on those who refuse to cooperate. The government is not prepared
for this public health threat, and needs the public’s help and support to fight
it.
Bangkok Post
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