Child fatalities spur flu jab campaign

Health authorities are accelerating their H1N1 (type-A) flu vaccination campaign among vulnerable groups following a rise in the number of deaths among children.

Of the three deaths reported from Jan 26 to Feb 2, one was a 5-year-old in Bangkok and another a 7-year-old in Sakon Nakhon. The third was a 27-year-old woman in Bangkok with a history of asthma and heart disease.

The death toll in Thailand from the flu has now reached 201, permanent secretary for public health Paijit Warachit said yesterday.

"The fatalities show the second wave of the H1N1 (type-A) influenza is spreading," Dr Paijit said.

"Without a vaccination programme, vulnerable groups could be at high risk."

Tawee Chotpitayasunond, a paediatrician with the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health, had predicted children would be hardest hit by the second wave of the flu, based on outbreak patterns in North America.

Dr Paijit said everyone in the high-risk groups should have a flu shot.

The number of patients testing positive for H1N1 (type-A) after they exhibited flu-like symptoms has increased from 12% at the start of the second wave of the flu in December to 25%, based on surveillance reports from 13 state hospitals across the country.

Health authorities hope to give the 2million doses of the H1N1 vaccine imported from France to people classified as being among the most vulnerable to the virus by the end of March. These include medical doctors, nurses, front-line healthcare workers, women more than three months' pregnant and people aged between six months and 64 years with chronic health problems such as lung disease, asthma, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, thalassemia, diabetes, HIV/Aids and cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

Only 160,179 people have been vaccinated since the campaign started on Jan 11.

Public concern over the safety of the vaccine and reports of miscarriages among pregnant women after receiving the vaccine could affect the programme, although medical experts insist the miscarriages were not caused by the vaccination against the H1N1 influenza.

Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said Thailand would continue its surveillance of the influenza while the vaccination programme was in effect.