Tourists Assured Safe over Thai Trips

Chinese tourists travelling overseas will continue to enjoy their visit in Thailand in safety despite reports of an outbreak of dengue fever, the Thai Government declared in Beijing Monday.

The disease which originates in tropical and subtropical areas has been of concern to Chinese tourists, quarantine, tourism and health departments since July.

A Thai delegation headed by senator Suradech Yasawasdi moved to ease fears by explaining the current status of the disease in its country.

More people visit Thailand from China than any other country except Japan and Malaysia with more than 700,000 travelling there every year.

"There is no dengue in Thailand's big cities and tourism cities, therefore visitors are safe to come to our country,'' said Prasit Pitulkija, senator and chairman of Public Health Committee of Thailand.

Pitulkija said: "Although some children died from dengue in remote areas, their deaths were a result of a lack of proper medical treatment.

"It is unlikely foreign tourists would be affected by dengue after being bitten by mosquitoes in the daytime. This is when most people get infected with the illness,'' said Pitulkija.

Dengue is only transmitted via bites of Aedes, a kind of mosquito.

According to Yasawasdi, the Thai Government has been taking measures to eradicate Aedes. With the end of the rainy season -- which runs from June to August in Thailand -- there will be fewer mosquitoes and the threat to visitors will be greatly reduced, he added.

Wang Suqi, deputy general-manager of the Outbound Travel Department with China International Travel Service, said his company had not seen decline in the number of tourists to Thailand during the past week. However, some had called his company asking about dengue fever.

But China's quarantine, health and tourism authorities are watching closely at reports of dengue in bordering Southeast Asian countries.

The State General Administration for Quality Supervision and Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has enforced stricter quarantine on imported goods to prevent an outbreak of the disease in China.

"We are imposing stricter quarantines on goods from countries with the disease, according to the international rules,'' said Ma Lixin, an official from AQSIQ.






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