
Full text loading...
The International Emerging Infections Program in Thailand: an Early Report, Page 1 of 2
< Previous page Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555816995/9781555812423_Chap14-1.gif /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1128/9781555816995/9781555812423_Chap14-2.gifAbstract:
The first International Emerging Infections Programs (IEIPs) was launched in October of 2001, with the opening of offices within the Ministry of Public Health complex in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The surveillance approach adopted by IEIP in Thailand differs somewhat from routine surveillance in most countries. Provinces are selected for surveillance on the basis of several criteria, including the representativeness of the population of Thailand, accessibility from Bangkok, feasibility of capturing the majority of hospitalizations through the public health system, availability of basic laboratory facilities, existence of epidemiologic capacity, and interest and commitment from local public health authorities. Between 1995 and 2001, the reported incidence of leptospirosis in Thailand increased by more than 100-fold, leading to widespread concern and calls for urgent control efforts. On 25 March 2002, the Bureau of Epidemiology was called to investigate a cluster of gastroenteritis cases among foreign tourists at a resort hotel in southern Thailand. In early 2002, outbreaks of hand, foot, and mouth syndrome were increasingly reported in Bangkok and six other provinces of Thailand. The vision of the IEIPs as a network of centers of excellence in infectious disease control is beginning to assume a realistic shape with the early growth of the IEIP-Thailand and the plan for a second IEIP in Africa. The establishment in Sa Kaeo Province of active, population- based, syndromic surveillance has the potential to provide uniquely valuable data to guide national and international public health decisions, though this potential will not be fully realized for several years.