CU doctor warns Covid-19 is biggest cause of illness and deaths in past month
CU doctor warns new Covid-19 strains cause most illnesses and deaths in Thailand recently.
A lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has urged the public to maintain heightened vigilance against new strains of the Covid-19 virus. Speaking on Wednesday, Assoc Prof Dr Thira Woratanarat warned that Covid-19 was the leading cause of illness and deaths over the past month and week.
Covid-19 Cases and Deaths Significantly Outnumber Other Diseases
In a Facebook post, Dr Thira revealed that in the past month, approximately 170,000 people sought hospital treatment for Covid-19, resulting in 37 deaths. By comparison, only one death was reported from influenza during the same period.
From 18 to 24 May, Covid-19 continued to cause the highest number of illnesses and fatalities among Thais. The number of Covid-19 cases was five times greater than cases of diarrhoea, ten times higher than influenza cases, and 30 times more than food poisoning cases.
Covid-19 Remains Serious Despite Endemic Status
Dr Thira emphasised that although Covid-19 has shifted from a pandemic to an endemic disease, it should not be underestimated as a mild illness. He explained that Covid-19 is not the same as the common cold and does not typically cause mild symptoms like influenza.
He urged people to be aware of symptoms and act responsibly to prevent spreading the virus within the community.
SARS-CoV-2 Continues to Evolve with New Variants Under Watch
The Covid-19 virus, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is continually evolving with new variants emerging regularly. Dr Thira highlighted that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently monitoring the LP.8.1 and NB.1.8.1 variants.
The LP.8.1 variant now accounts for about 39% of infections across 51 countries. Meanwhile, the NB.1.8.1 variant is rising, with a 10.7% infection rate in 22 countries.
The WHO has classified NB.1.8.1 as a variant under monitoring due to its higher growth advantage compared to LP.8.1 and its immunity resistance, estimated to be 1.5 to 1.6 times greater than LP.8.1.
