July 17 2012 1 00 am.
Cambodia's epidemic of hand, foot and mouth disease appears to have passed the critical point and is now under control, but Thailand remains on alert for further cases, Bureau of Epidemiology director Dr Pasakorn Akarasewi said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the elementary level at Satit Chula demonstration school in central Bangkok has closed, starting from today. A press conference will be held at 1pm to announce details...Dr Pasakorn said the outbreak in Cambodia should decline within 45 days and that the illness had been found in Thailand among primaryschool students. About 13,000 children in Thailand have been infected with HFMD, and the figure might reach 18,000 this year.
... In Thailand, the outbreak has occurred in nurseries and kindergartens, mainly in the Central and Northeast regions, with some in the North and South. Most patients are children of three to five years of age, but symptoms have also been found in some children older than five.
Mae Hong Song publichealth chief Dr Paisarn Tanyawinijkul said: "Parents should advise their children to wash their hands often. As for schools, if they find more than five students coming down with the HFMD in a class, the class must be suspended. If there are more than five such classes, the school should be closed down temporarily."
In Rayong, Kris said he had asked employers to cooperate on the temporary ban on Cambodian workers from visiting home.
"If they go to Cambodia and come back around this time, they may return with enterovirus 71," he said. "The employers have agreed to provide cooperation."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Kingdom-remains-on-alert-for-disease-outbreak-30186288.html
