INFLUENZA 2009
Thailand confirms 21 new cases of
flu in Pattaya
By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation
Thailand on Thursday reported 21 new cases of
the flu, all of them were discotheque staffs in Pattaya, Thai Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said.
Among the 90 samples collected from people who worked in hotel and discotheques in Pattaya, 21 of them were confirmed to be positive to
the flu.
The collection of the samples were conducted after two Taiwanese who visited Pattaya were found infected by
the flu when they returned home.
"All 21 cases which were found positive to
the flu were staffs of a discotheque in Pattaya," he said.
He also referred to a 11-year-old student of a private school who was infected by
the flu although he had no record of travelling to a foreign country like other patients.
His school suspended their classes for three days, starting today, to find the source of
the flu.
Witthaya said the investigation still continued and still could not find the source.
He added that the ministry is still waiting for lab results of the boy's 13 classmates.
"About 30 teachers of the school are scheduled to return to Bangkok next week from the United States. We will also observe them," he said.
Meanwhile five more cases of
the flu were confirmed on Thursday afternoon, one of them was mother of the 11-year-old infected boy.
The mother had no symptom but lab test showed that she was positive to
the flu.
Another patient had no record of travelling abroad but he picked up his son who returned from a foreign country at Suvarnabhumi Airport recently.
Two other cases were a man who just returned from Singapore and a woman who visited the US recently.
The fifth was a British man who was on his way to Cambodia and made a transit at Suvarnabhumi Airport. He was found high fever and running nose. He was admitted to a hospital and lab test showed he was infected by
the flu.