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The Doctor's Consultation:
by Dr. Iain Corness
Travel insurance: Are you covered?
When you are going overseas, do
you take out travel insurance? Do you buy it from an insurance broker, or
from the insurance company, or just from the travel agent? There could be
many different scenarios, and you should be aware of them. Medical treatment
overseas can be cripplingly expensive.
Unfortunately, many people have a somewhat cavalier attitude to insurance
and I’m just as guilty! A few months ago I did mention medical insurance in
this column and it was amazing the response that this brought. When people
began to see just how much they were financially “at risk” by not having
insurance, the better brokers were inundated. Let’s see what the response to
this week’s column will be when we look at travel insurance. By the way,
this is not travel insurance to cover your lost luggage, but to cover
medical emergencies. Your lost good health.
Unfortunately many people travel under the misconception that the travel
insurance they took out with the travel agent is going to cover them for all
eventualities. Sadly not. The following is a true story, taken from one of
my medical journals from Australia. A gentleman with a leaking heart valve,
which was under investigation and examination by a cardiologist, has to make
a business trip to America. He took out travel insurance from the travel
agent, but discloses nothing about the on-going cardiologist’s review, as he
does not think it is that important. Two days after getting to San Francisco
he got very short of breath and was admitted to hospital. The insurance
company was contacted which then asked for a report from the American
hospital, and a report from the patient’s usual doctor in Australia. This,
by the way, is standard practice.
The history of the cardiac condition now came to light, and the insurance
company state (justifiably) that if they had known of this situation, they
would not have accepted the man as a reasonable risk and refused cover.
Meanwhile, the man’s condition deteriorated rapidly and he has to have an
emergency heart valve replacement. All was not plain sailing and he ended up
having 42 days in intensive care. Total cost came to $US 576,500, for which
the businessman was totally liable. To raise the sum of over half a million
dollars he had to liquidate his company and sell his house at “fire sale”
prices. But he thought he was insured.
Like another horror story? A young woman is going to the UK for a working
holiday. Like many people, she has asthma, but it is reasonably well
controlled. Since she was flying directly to the UK and there is a
reciprocal medical agreement between the UK and Australia, she decides she
“logically” doesn’t need travel insurance. Six hours into the flight she
gets an acute attack of asthma and has to be off-loaded in Singapore.
Complications occur and she ends up being in Singapore for 6 weeks and then
has to be medically evacuated back to Australia with a doctor and nurse
escort team. Her stay in Singapore and the medivac came to $A 390,000 and
her parents had to sell their farm to raise the money.
So you can see from that example, just because you are covered at the other
end of your flight doesn’t mean to say you are not “at risk”. The moral of
these two tales is simple - take out good travel (medical) insurance and
make sure you declare any pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies are
in the business of “risk” assessment. Forgetting to declare your medical
history is not thought of as being an acceptable risk. This omission could
prove deleterious to both your health and your wealth. As I have pointed
out, insurance companies do not just blindly take your medical conditions at
face value. Conditions that must have been long-standing will not be
covered, unless they are noted beforehand. Degeneration of a hip joint is
not something that just arose, out of the blue.
Think about it before your next trip!
Heart to Heart
with Hillary
 Dear
Hillary,
Yes, it is possible to fall in love with a person one has never met. I
have fallen in love with you. This of course is predicated entirely on
your being a woman and not already married but the latter could be dealt
with if you are ready for a change, surely?
You are funny, intelligent, bright, commonsensical, witty, shrewd and
have all the mental and spiritual qualities I require in a partner.
Clearly, you would hand out the clout of all time to any partner who
dared to be silly enough to stray off the path of virtue whilst involved
intimately with your splendid self. I have a mental picture of you which
does not disappoint and which I am sure will not be far off reality; you
are Western; British or Australian; what is known as a ‘handsome’ woman,
i.e., not 25 but still very attractive; fun to be with and an
intelligent and witty companion and just the lady, I am sure, who could
walk tall with me as I bravely enter the twilight years.
But of course, before you say yes to a pig in a poke, you will want to
know something about me. I’ve been here for many years, speak Thai and
several other languages; have a sense of humor (you need one when you
see my face in the mirror each morning), am educated, have been married
twice to splendid Thai women and have a lovely, bilingual, Eurasian
daughter. I am at the moment unattached and need a companion who is not
some silly little biddy who doesn’t know New York from New Year.
As to age: well I’m a youthful mid-sixty-ish type of fellow who looks
younger and doesn’t drink; and a past which involved, in part, military
experience, has left me with an underlying musculature and no ghastly
flab. I walk ten km per day, hence my iron-hard thighs; and I have blond
hair. Dyed, of course, but it looks tasty, and I am not bald. I have a
sense of humor and am well-read; I love music of all sorts, poetry and
good English and I am a published writer.
Enough...crossing your mind is: and I will be delicate here - can I
still cut the mustard? I am happy to say, the answer is squarely in the
affirmative and no chemicals are involved.
Over to you! Very warm regards from
Edwin
Dear Edwin,
Goodness me! A 404 word proposal! And so romantic, Petal. I haven’t had
an offer like that since little Johnny Carstairs wanted to see my
knickers when we were in fourth grade. You so nicely describe me in your
mental picture of myself. Ah yes, if I were only 25 again. I too, have a
mental picture of you with your ‘suicide’ locks (dyed by your own hand),
but I am not sure I needed the description of the thighs, after all,
they say thighs doesn’t matter these days! I am a little perplexed about
the ‘mustard’ which you want to cut without chemicals. Is this Dijon or
Colman’s? Honestly, Edwin, I can cut all kinds of mustard and don’t need
chemicals to do it. I usually use one of those lovely cheese knives, as
I normally have the mustard on the cheese, washed down with a bottle of
bubbles. And here is our first stumbling block - you don’t drink! Don’t
drink? Do you have some sort of a medical problem you are hiding from
me? And then there’s the military side of things. Sorry, Edwin, but
uniforms do nothing for me. I can imagine you shouting at your bilingual
daughter and I on our compulsory 10 km walks every day. Left, right,
left, right, halt at T junction! So thank you, but unfortunately I must
say no. However, congratulations on knowing when to use a semi colon, as
opposed to a comma. Very rare, in this day and age.
Dear Hillary,
My agent in the Hammock Room reports that you often wear not one but two
Blue Peter badges attached to your DD Cups! I wonder if these relate to
your pathological and morbid interest in water loving beasts which led
you to being fondly remembered as Buffalo Hill?
Mistersingha
Dear Mistersingha,
My day started off well. A proposal of marriage, which I unfortunately
had to refuse (if he’d attached it to a bottle of sparkling giggle
juice, I might have given in), but then the second email was yours. What
a total let-down. However, you have given us all an insight into your
fantasies. Blue Peter (for all those unfamiliar with Blue Peter, it is a
children’s show on TV, named after the maritime flag that is hoisted
when a ship is about to sail), goodness me, Mistersingha, how long have
you been watching? The show was supposed to be a voyage of discovery for
children. Perhaps you could also sail off somewhere, using some DD cups
as kayaks? Please try, that’s a good boy. Off to play then.
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Camera Class: by
Harry Flashman
Can you really throw away your flash?
 According
to Eastman Kodak, the technology is here now, and will become
universal in 12 months, by which low-light photography becomes
easy. Provided you have made the jump to digital technology.
Ben Dobbin, reporting for AP writes, “An innovative
camera-filter technology promises crisper photos in poor light.”
Rochester, New York (AP) - A year from now, capturing a crisp,
clear image of a candlelit birthday party could be a piece of
cake - even with a camera phone.
Eastman Kodak Co. said it has developed a color-filter
technology that at least doubles the sensitivity to light of the
image sensor in every digital camera, enabling shutterbugs to
take better pictures in poor light.
“Low light can mean trying to get a good image indoors of your
kid blowing out the birthday candles. It can mean you want to
take a photograph on a street corner in Paris at midnight,” said
Chris McNiffe, general manager of the photography company’s
image sensor business. “We’re talking about a two-to-four-times
improvement in (light) sensitivity.”
Analyst Chris Chute does not doubt that the new filter system,
intended to supplant an industry-standard filter pattern
designed by Kodak scientist Bryce Bayer in 1976, represents a
breakthrough in boosting photo quality - especially when light
conditions are not ideal.
“It’s often the most simple concepts that can have the most
profound impact,” said Chute of IDC, a market research firm near
Boston. “This could be revolutionary in terms of just changing
that very simple filter on top of the sensor and basically
allowing companies to use it in all different kinds of cameras.”
Kodak expects to provide samples of its new technology to a
variety of camera manufacturers in the first quarter of 2008.
The technology is likely to be incorporated first in mass-market
point-and-shoot cameras and camera-equipped mobile phones
beginning sometime next year.
“Typically new features like this would be more likely to show
up in high-end products and then trickle down,” said analyst
Steve Hoffenberg of Lyra Research Inc. “But I think the biggest
potential benefit of this may come in the camera phone
environment. Camera phones are using smaller sensors to begin
with and smaller sensors generally mean smaller pixels, which
means lower sensitivity.”
When the shutter opens on a digital camera, an image is
projected onto the sensor, which converts light into an electric
charge. Most sensors use the Bayer mask: half of the millions of
cells on a checkerboard grid are filtered to collect green light
and a quarter each are filtered to let through red and blue
light. A computer chip then reconstructs a full color signal for
each pixel in the final image.
The new method, which has been under development for more than
five years, adds “panchromatic” cells that are sensitive to all
wavelengths of visible light and collect a larger amount of
light striking the sensor. Tailoring software algorithms to this
unique new pattern enables faster shutter speeds, which reduces
blurring when capturing a moving subject, McNiffe said.
So what does all that really mean for you and I? In simple
terms, it is the equivalent of using fast film of ASA 1600,
instead of the ASA 100 that you normally use. It means that you
would be able to hand-hold a low-light shot at 1/60 shutter
speed, instead of having to use 1/4 second exposures. It also
means (as far as I can work out), that the graininess associated
with low-light photography will be overcome.
It is amazing that the Bayer mask has been accepted as an
industry standard all this time, especially as it was developed
in 1976, which is more than 30 years ago. In this fast-moving
technological age, where the electronic gizmo you buy today is
superseded tomorrow, we are still using a 30 year old concept.
I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed with the thrust
being towards low end point and shoot cameras, and even worse,
that abomination called a ‘camera phone’. I do believe we should
strive towards excellence, and I don’t need a camera that will
telephone people, nor do I need a phone that takes pictures. I
have a camera to do that. What do you feel?
Money Matters: Graham
Macdonald MBMG International Ltd.
If U.S. Equities are doing so well why
is the U.S. Economy struggling? Part 2
At the end of May, the S&P broke record ground for the
first time since 2000. The DJ Industrial 30 got to over 13,633. People have
short memories or, possibly, do not remember what happened the last time new
highs were set - i.e. massive losses soon followed. Even after the
correction of February, which was led by sell offs in China, it did not take
long for the investors to come back and they have been pushing US markets
steadily upward ever since. This time, the nervousness was much
shorter-lived. “If we see a 20 or 30 percent decline in the Shanghai index,
that will cause investors to sit up and take notice,” Sam Stovall, chief
investment strategist at Standard & Poor. “Basically, investors say, ‘You’ve
got to increase the shock value, not merely replicate it to get my attention
the second time around.’”
Markets in the USA have been strongly supported by one or more of the
following: Mergers & Acquisitions, corporate takeovers, companies buying
back their own shares and company earnings that are proving to be better
than expected.
Things now come full circle. This optimism now seems to be overshadowing
worries about the slowing US economy, rising energy prices, increasing
commodity costs, a potential rise in interest rates and the problems of the
housing market.
“We have a remarkably positive environment for securities,” said James W.
Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management. “You have
5 percent real world G.D.P. growth right now and you have massive excessive
liquidity sloshing around.”
As reported in the US press, in the minutes of the Fed meeting in mid-May,
officials believe that the economic outlook has improved whilst at the same
time admitting the housing market and the problems in subprime mortgages
would serve as a bigger drag on the economy than they had previously
thought.
These same minutes then went on to show that policy makers are still
concerned that inflation is too high and too unsettled to warrant a change
in policy. This means that interest rates have had to be left unchanged at
5.25 percent. There are also signs that the recent moderation in inflation
could be threatened by rising fuel prices - these have risen to over USD3
per gallon for the first time in almost a year.
However, investors remain unperturbed. While the outlook for profits is not
as strong or upbeat as it has been in the last few years it is still quite
optimistic.
Also, low interest rates have continued to enable people and businesses to
have easy access to credit. “Until interest rates rise significantly and
investors become excessively optimistic, the market is likely to continue
upward,” said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird
& Company, a securities firm.
Despite all this some analysts and economists are worried that investors
have become too complacent. The S&P has gone up by around eleven percent in
the last three months or so. This rise does not allow for the rise in
interest rates, the slowdown in the economy and the recent increase in
petrol prices.
“Markets never move in one direction for a long period of time,” one
investment analyst said. “The glass is being viewed as half full, which it
is, but there is always another side to the story.”
The energy sector is now leading the way in the markets. This is followed by
the materials business. Both of these sectors have benefited from the
upsurge in commodities that has been driven by China, India and other
developing nations.
Even though there is evidence to show that the US indices are doing
extremely well, there is also doubt at the back of the American investor who
can still recall the horrors of 2000 and 2001. The flow of money into mutual
funds that concentrate on domestic equities, a good guideline for investor
sentiment, has been less than strong over the last few years.
This can be seen from the fact that in the first four months of this year,
the US investor has put only USD25.3 billion into mutual funds that
specialize in the US markets whereas they have spent more than twice that,
$56.1 billion, into international funds.
So, even though the US markets do not appear to be in too bad a shape the
reality is that the economy may cause them further trouble and so it is
better to be safe than sorry - keep your money out of the US unless you do
not mind a rough ride.
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The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can accept
any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor bear any
responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions taken or not
taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more information please
contact Graham Macdonald on graham@mbmg-international.com
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Life in Chiang Mai:
by Mark Whitman
Travel broadens the mind and for many people it is true.
For some there is a strange reluctance to do anything except take advantage
of the new locale, abuse it and go home. They never accept that they are the
visitors, the foreigners and Rome residents staged protests recently against
the invasion of hooligans arriving for stag parties. Other visitors are
simply silly and I cherish the true story of the woman who said that she
could not cope with the local currency whilst in Spain. Why, she wondered,
could they not have double sided notes – with the local amount on one side
and the British value on the other. It seems that the excess baggage in
terms of ignorance and prejudice is carried in the mind not the suitcase.
Of course, you don’t have to travel to have your horizons broadened and I
have been pleased (and amused) to see the reaction the visit of my Thai
friend has had. There are some 40,000 students at any one time visiting this
town and they mostly live with host families (many of which are ill equipped
mentally and physically to cope with them). Do they, I wonder, all get
spoken to at three notches above the norm or get asked questions obliquely
or worse still through a third person. It reminds me of the great title of a
radio programme about the disabled, ‘Does he take sugar’. Ands why is there
an inbuilt assumption that none of the trappings of ‘civilisation’ are
available in far away countries.
But for me, obviously, the most interesting aspect has been the response of
a visitor from Chiang Mai to our very different environment. We have
travelled throughout Thailand and to Vietnam, Laos and elsewhere but this is
the first trip to Europe, which later this week will take in a little of
France and then Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. The reaction has been mixed.
London was somewhat overwhelming, but the London Eye visit – 133 metres
above the ground in that vast wheel – and a Thames River cruise were
wonderful ways to see the landmarks. London’s parks and open spaces and the
great buildings such as St Paul’s were also a great success. But the traffic
and pace were all too reminiscent of Bangkok. There is no doubt though that
the abundant farm lands in the south and the overall lushness and greenery
and flowers and shrubs have been the most captivating aspect. The
unseasonable rains and April sunshine have had a hand in this.
The beauty of the older cities such a Chichester and Salisbury, including
their cathedrals have also impressed, as have the superb sandy beaches
(despite the wind and the rain making them unusable). Yes there have been
plenty of plusses, including the very fresh air, outside the capital and
negatives as well. Not just the excessive traffic (what about Chiang Mai
during the flower festival?), but the fact that most vehicles have only one
person in them. Our profligacy does not pass unnoticed. But the biggest
contrast of all is one I have noted before in this column.
The number of cameras on the streets and the abundance of signs and
restrictions providing the non-stop exhortations to do this and not do that.
All of which has been brought home by the July 1 ban on smoking in public
places and more sadly the recent attempt by terrorists to blow up parts of
central London and then Glasgow airport. Barriers, further restrictions and
notices have sprung up over night. A necessary evil against evil.
Let's Go To The Movies:
Mark Gernpy
Transformers: US Action/Sci-Fi – It is big, loud, and full of
testosterone-fueled car fantasies – a gigantic, spectacular, and funny
summer blockbuster movie, with truly exceptional and unprecedented visual
effects. If you like loud action movies, see it, you’ll have a lot of fun.
You may think it way too long, but if so it’s simply too much of a good
thing.
Two warring alien tribes, the good-guy Autobots and malevolent Decepticons,
have made their way to earth, their transforming abilities allowing them to
pose undetected as transportation vehicles (like your car) and electronic
equipment. The Decepticons are out to locate a cube with the powers to allow
them to rule the universe, and their one link to finding it is hidden in a
pair of eye glasses owned by 16-year-old Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the
descendant of an explorer who came upon one of the robots hidden in the ice
of Antarctica in the 1800s. He doesn’t look like a teenager to me, but he
certainly acts like one. Sam is consumed with everyday worries about school,
friends, cars, and girls. His car, as it happens, is an Autobot in disguise.
Quote of the week: “I bought a car. . . . Turns out to be an alien robot. .
. .Who knew?!” He bonds with his Autobot – boy with car, the old story –
after which he gets to save the world. And get the girl!
Its great fun, although I must think the depiction of suburban American
family life, with the weird interactions of teenagers with their parents,
must puzzle Thais. Sam’s parents here are so believable that they come
across as monsters.
It’s an action movie, so there are many car chases, crashes, and explosions.
But it’s a real ride! See it if it sounds at all interesting to you!
Live Free or Die Hard/ Die Hard 4.0: US Action/Adventure/Thriller – This one
sneaked in a week earlier than scheduled. A fascinating plot of a conspiracy
to take down the entire computer and technological structure that supports
the economy of the US (and the world). Very scary stuff and very well done.
It’s up to a decidedly “old school” non-technological hero, Bruce Willis, in
the guise of police detective John McClane, to take down the conspiracy.
Well, Bruce Willis is a dear! He is just a marvelously comfortable person to
be with. And does he ever kick butt, same as always. It’s a superb action
movie! You get the feeling you are really in the hands of professionals who
know what they are doing. It’s slick, well-written, well-acted, terrifically
exciting. This one also has many explosions and car wrecks; if that’s your
thing, you’ll love it. If you only put up with them, you’ll be thrilled by
the rest of it: the story, the acting, and the very good dialogue.
Rakna 24 Hours: Thai Romance/Comedy – An interesting premise: our hero had a
twin in the womb (which we see); one of them during birth gets tangled up in
the cord, as the other one watches him die. Then the mother, sicko that she
is, raises the one surviving baby as twins. It’s enough to seriously screw
up a guy’s outlook on life! The child is called A one day, and his twin B
the next, all up to the present day when he is 22 and working at a 7/11.
When one of them falls in love, problems ensue. Mildly amusing.
Scheduled for Wednesday, July 11
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: US Adventure/Fantasy – Harry
returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of
the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager’s recent encounter
with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news
that Voldemort has returned. A new course of study unfortunately leaves the
young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark
forces threatening them, so Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting
secretly with a small group of students, Harry teaches them how to defend
themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for
the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.
Reports are this is the darkest and toughest “Harry Potter” yet. Two more
after this . . .
Life in the laugh lane:
by Scott Jones
Part 1 - A Crash Course
in Computers and Harleys
This column comes to you from the complementary computer/internet desk in
the comfortable lounge of a massive motorcycle dealership in Staunton,
Virginia where I’m uncomfortably waiting and paying for repairs while
surrounded by a hundred Harleys and most everything else imaginable that can
sport a Harley-Davidson logo: several million accessories, pinball games,
pool and poker tables, couches, cocktail tables, popcorn machines, garage
floor coverings, wind chimes and a catalog that even lists a Harley-Davidson
vault for $12,000, which is probably in their office filling up with my
cash. You can set up your own mirrored, mahogany Harley bar with matching
stools for about $20,000 to drink heavily before you ride and then pack some
Harley Beef Jerky which is what your head will look like after it hits the
pavement because you didn’t wear your $300 Harley helmet. The pet section
has “fashion” dog t-shirts for $20, canine raingear, and retractable leashes
for $31, barking dog chews that say “Bad to the Bone” and little leather
hats guaranteed to embarrass any dog meek enough to let his master dress it.
Besides the unending mens’ and womens’ clothing section, the kids’ section
is filled with propaganda material: t-shirts that say “50% Mommy, 50% Daddy
and 100% Harley,” a picture book entitled “Why Grandma Loves Her Harley Too”
and—to promote the cult at birth—tiny quilted booties for “Age 0-3 months”
that say “Born to Ride.” I’m surprised there’s no Harley Viagra for brand
marketing that targets sperm.
For the past two days, I’ve been trying to get to Minnesota, but am still
trapped in Virginia, having traveled about 200 miles forward and 200 miles
backwards. Before riding away from my friend’s house, I related a couple
recent forgetful tales. I left my charger in San Francisco, which is similar
to a familiar song and too familiar in my life since I also left one in
North Carolina. (Within the year, I won’t have to carry a cell phone charger
because all my friends around the country will have one.) As I walked out
the Radio Shack door after purchasing my latest one in Virginia, the
checkout lady called me back to see if I wanted to take my phone with me. In
the parking lot, I put on my sunglasses which felt very weird under my
helmet until I remembered I’d forgotten to take off my regular glasses, a
new meaning to the term “old four-eyes.” Five miles down the road, marveling
at how light the backpack carrying my laptop was, I realized I wasn’t
wearing it and had left it in the driveway. I raced back to my friend’s
imagining I’d confess, “As an English tutor in Thailand, I learned that
demonstration is a more effective teaching technique than explanation.
Instead of just telling stories, I thought I’d show you what an idiot I am.”
To my horror, I returned to my friend’s to NOT find the computer in their
driveway. I’d left it on my back seat and it had fallen off somewhere on the
road. The computer was worth a couple thousand dollars, but the two external
hard drives had my entire virtual life, files that would take months to
reconstruct and irreplaceable photos from around the world. I didn’t care
about the dollars, just the ones and zeros, the precious digital info, all
my passwords for bank accounts, ad infinitum. For hours, three friends and
one policeman scoured the road sides—thick, tangled ditches filled with
poison ivy, tall nettles and blackberry brambles, some leading twenty meters
down into streams. A truck stopped and the driver asked, “Y’all lookin’ for
this?” and held up my backpack which looked like it had been ripped apart by
rabid bears. “Y’alls computer don’t look so good. Ah couldn’t find any names
on it and since ah don’t know much ‘bout ‘em, I left it at a client’s house
up in the hills.” We drove into the hills which are home to primitive,
toothless tribes that speak a different language, similar to Thailand. We
found the house and retrieved the mutilated computer before her son could
contact my bank account passwords with his ouigi board.
Oh, thank you, Ruler of the Universe and the God of Karma, one of my disc
drives was not destroyed and my digital life is intact from the day I left
Thailand! While I copied the data on another computer, my friend asked, “Do
you have a warranty?” Great idea! I’ll send the crushed pieces to Sony with
a letter that says, “I was calmly sitting at the table when the computer
suddenly exploded, shooting the LCD screen into our wall, which is made of
rubber as you can see by the black marks on the case. The letter ‘E’ flew
off the keyboard and blinded my grandmother. Send me a big check or, in true
American style, I’ll sue for millions or send millions of armed forces into
your country.”
Part 2 of Scott’s misadventures in Virginia continues in the July 17th
issue.
Your Health & Happiness: Thai medics to help Cambodia contain dengue fever
Thailand will send health officials and medical equipment to help
neighboring Cambodia to contain dengue fever after the number of dengue
fever cases there was recorded at nearly 10,000 in June.
The Cambodian government requested Thailand’s assistance to contain dengue
fever there after the spreading disease officially became a crisis when the
death toll last month was reported at 132, or a five-fold increase over the
previous month, according to Dr. Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the
Public Health Ministry’s Disease Control Department.
Thai Public Health Minister Dr. Mongkol Na Songkhla has been assigned by
Prime Minister Gen. Surayud Chulanont to lead teams of specialists and carry
medical equipment to Cambodia.
Medical equipment will be sent to Cambodia by aircraft of the Royal Thai Air
Force. The Thai medical teams will treat Cambodian patients and update
Cambodian medical staff on new procedures on preventing and containing
dengue fever outbreaks. TNA
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