Thai people suggested not to panic with flu outbreaks in US

BANGKOK, January 14 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health says that people need not panic with influenza spreading in the United States currently, as it is a seasonal outbreak and travelers can continue to visit the United States as usual. Thai Public Health Minister Dr. Pradit Sintawanarong told journalists on Monday that the flu outbreak in the United States, resulting from the old H3N2/Victoria virus with no mutated cases, has already been contained. Dr. Pradit confirmed that travels between the United States and Thailand can continue, as people can protect themselves from the H3N2 influenza by eating warmly-cooked food, using serving spoons and often washing their hands. The public health minister suggested that those who plans to go to the United States check whether their destinations are facing the flu outbreak and they can also receive the vaccine, as his ministry's Department of Disease Control has stocked about 100,000 doses of the vaccine, and that those who return from the United States see doctors immediately if they fall ill. According to official statistics, there have been 144 influenza patients in Thailand since early this year; while there were over 60,000 flu patients in the country last year, three of them died. The public health minister acknowledged that the number of influenza patients in Thailand tends to rise, but the percentage of H3N2/Victoria flu outbreaks in the country has dropped from 50 per cent to 12 per cent. (TNA)