Thailand has tightened its Ebola prevention measures by imposing mandatory 21-day quarantine requirements on all travellers arriving from Congo and Uganda, even if they show no symptoms of the disease, following worsening outbreaks in the two African countries.
The new measures were announced today after a meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee, chaired by Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Somruek Chungsaman.
The move follows a ministry announcement issued on May 20 designating the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as dangerous communicable disease zones under Thailand’s Communicable Disease Act.
According to the Department of Disease Control, citing World Health Organization (WHO) data as of May 22, the Ebola outbreak in Congo has resulted in 867 infections and 204 deaths.
Somruek said the situation in both countries has become more severe, while the number of travellers arriving in Thailand from the two countries has also increased significantly.
He said there are no direct flights from either country to Thailand, but arrivals have risen from around five to seven people a day to more than 10 per day over the past few days, with 19 arrivals recorded in a single day recently.
Under previous measures, travellers from outbreak areas who showed no symptoms and had no known exposure risk were allowed to self-monitor and report their health status for 21 days.
Authorities are, however, now finding it increasingly difficult to track all arrivals due to the increase in numbers, with some changing accommodation or failing to cooperate with health officials.
The committee therefore agreed to step up the measures from symptom observation and self-reporting to mandatory 21-day quarantine, even for those showing no symptoms or signs of illness, effective immediately, according to Somruek.
The department has prepared quarantine facilities at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. The government will cover accommodation costs for the first 72 hours because the measure was implemented without advance notice.
After that, travellers will be required to pay their own expenses.
Travellers showing symptoms consistent with Ebola virus disease will be transferred immediately to designated hospitals for treatment and isolation. Officials say the stricter measures may also help reduce the number of travellers arriving from the affected countries.
Somruek said Thailand has not reached the stage of banning travel from the two countries, but authorities believe stricter controls are necessary because of the growing number of arrivals and the difficulty in monitoring them all effectively.
He said the measures are stricter than those recommended by the WHO, but are necessary to protect public health and reduce the risk of the disease entering Thailand.
Deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control Dr Anek Mungaomklang said health officials had eventually tracked down all five travellers who had initially been difficult to locate, although doing so required significant manpower and resources over several days.
None of the five developed fever or symptoms meeting Ebola case criteria, he said.
Anek added that travellers from the two countries have previously arrived at both Suvarnabhumi Airport and Phuket International Airport. Those landing in Phuket will be quarantined there instead of being transferred to Bangkok.
Nonetheless, authorities are now coordinating with airlines to ensure all travellers whose journeys originate in Congo and Uganda enter Thailand only through Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Dr Yongyot Leosrirattanakorn, director of the Division of General Communicable Diseases, said quarantine facilities arranged by the Department of Disease Control resemble hotel rooms, with health officials monitoring travellers’ temperatures and symptoms daily.
He said other passengers on the same flights whose journeys originated from countries outside the outbreak zones will not be quarantined.
Yongyot said about 100 travellers from the two countries have entered Thailand since authorities began enhanced monitoring measures around five days ago.
Initially, travellers were allowed to arrange their own accommodation while officials followed up with them later, but authorities found that some did not stay at their declared locations.
Officials then began transporting travellers directly to hotels, but some hotels were reluctant to accept guests arriving from Ebola-affected areas.
Yongyot noted that the United States had imposed even stricter measures by barring entry to non-US citizens arriving from affected areas and restricting American citizens to designated airports and quarantine procedures.
Although the WHO has not recommended such stringent measures, Thailand considers them necessary because an Ebola outbreak in the country could have severe public health and economic consequences, he said.
There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine for the Ebola strain involved in the outbreak, with patient care focused mainly on supportive treatment according to symptom severity.
Thai health authorities claim, however, that the country’s medical system is prepared to handle potential cases.
Officials also said there are currently no plans to request additional government funding, as disease surveillance and monitoring fall within the Department of Disease Control’s regular responsibilities.
Authorities are also considering issuing travel warnings advising Thai nationals to avoid travelling to the two affected countries if the situation deteriorates.
