Thailand is battling to halt the spread of a rabies epidemic, which has already claimed seven lives.
The disease is most often caught through being bitten by an infected animal.
CGTN Photo
Stray cats and dogs are being rounded up, but the authorities have huge numbers of animals to cope with.
At the front line of the fight are mobile units where vets are vaccinating stray cats and dogs, as well as domestic pets brought in by their owners.
Some animals are also being sterilized to prevent breeding.
Rabies causes inflammation of the brain, and in humans is almost always fatal.
Sterilization is being used to reduce the dog and cat population in Thailand. /CGTN Photo
Seven people – including two children – have died after being infected in the first 76 days of the year – that’s more than half the entire 2017 total. All were thought to have been bitten by stray animals.
The capital Bangkok is one of 39 Thai provinces that have been declared Rabies Epidemic Zones.
Dr. Viriya Kaewthong, director-general of the Bureau of Disease Control at the Thai Ministry of Agriculture, said: “People need to be aware of the situation but not panic. Our advice is to keep away from animals that you do not know.”
Already 400 animals have been confirmed to have rabies.
Many owners know the need for vaccination but said they couldn’t afford the cost.
One owner at the mobile unit with her pet admitted: “I’ve come here because it’s free, I don’t have money.”
Owners bring their animals to a mobile vaccination center in Bangkok. /CGTN Photo
Thailand has huge numbers of stray dogs. One charity, the Soi Dog Foundation, estimates at least eight million across the country. Authorities are now looking at an ongoing vaccination program.
Globally, there are many thousands of rabies deaths each year, with 95 percent of fatalities occurring in Africa and Asia.
Thailand suffered a major rabies outbreak in 1980 that resulted in 370 deaths – but in recent years the number of victims has been low.
Between 2011 and 2015 fatalities had been reduced to single figures, but a recent spike saw 14 deaths in 2016 and 11 last year.
It’s hoped swift action now can halt further spread of the disease.
BANGKOK (AP) — About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas.
Fighters from the Karen ethnic minority last week captured the last of the Myanmar army’s outposts in and around Myawaddy, which is connected to Thailand by two bridges across the Moei River.
The latest clashes were triggered in the morning when the Karen guerillas launched an attack against Myanmar troops who were hiding near the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, a major crossing point for trade with Thailand, said police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat in Thailand's Mae Sot district. He estimated about 1,300 people fled into Thailand.
Thai officials reported people had started crossing since Friday following clashes in several areas of Myawaddy.
The fall of Myawaddy is a major setback for the military that seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021. Myanmar’s once-mighty armed forces have suffered a series of unprecedented defeats since last October, losing swathes of territory including border posts to both ethnic fighters, who have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades, and pro-democracy guerrilla units that took up arms after the military takeover.
The clashes, involving drone attacks from the Karen forces and airstrikes by the Myanmar military, had subsided by noon Saturday compared to the morning, but Mae Sot police chief Pittayakorn Phetcharat said he could still hear sporadic gunshots. He said Thai authorities would move people fleeing into a safer area.
Footage from the Thai border showed Thai soldiers maintaining guard near the bridge with sounds of explosions and gunshots in the background. People with children waded across the river with their belongings and were received by Thai officials on the river bank. Several are seen taking shelter in buildings along the river bank on the Myanmar side.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrote on the social media platform X on Saturday that he was closely monitoring the situation at the border.
“I do not desire to see any such clashes have any impact on the territorial integrity of Thailand and we are ready to protect our borders and the safety of our people. At the same time, we are also ready to provide humanitarian assistance if necessary,” he wrote.
In March, Thailand delivered its first batch of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar for about 20,000 displaced people.
Nikorndej Balangura, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Friday that Thailand is currently working to expand its aid initiative.
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
A Thai military armored vehicle takes a position with sounds of explosions and gunshots along the Moei river, under the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge in Mae Sot in Thailand's Tak province Saturday, April 20, 2024. About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted near a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas. (AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
People cross the Moei river as they flee Myawaddy township in Myanmar to Thailand's Mae Sot town in Thailand's Tak province, Saturday, April 20, 2024. More than a thousand people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand on Saturday as fresh fighting erupted near the border of the town that has recently been captured by guerillas from the Karen ethnic minority, officials said.(AP Photo/Warangkana Wanichachewa)
