Abstract Influenza A (H5N1) is endemic in poultry across much of Southeast Asia, but limited information exists on the distinctive features of the few human cases. In Thailand, we instituted nationwide surveillance and tested respiratory specimens by polymerase chain reaction and viral isolation. From January 1 to March 31, 2004, we reviewed 610 reports and identified 12 confirmed and 21 suspected cases. All 12 confirmed case-patients resided in villages that experienced abnormal chicken deaths, 9 lived in households whose backyard chickens died, and 8 reported direct contact with dead chickens. Seven were children <14 years of age. Fever preceded dyspnea by a median of 5 days, and lymphopenia significantly predicted acute respiratory distress syndrome development and death. Among hundreds of thousands of potential human cases of influenza A (H5N1) in Asia, a history of direct contact with sick poultry, young age, pneumonia and lymphopenia, and progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome should prompt specific laboratory testing for H5 influenza.
The rapid outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has demonstrated the need for the development of new vaccine candidates and therapeutic drugs to fight against the underlying virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, no antiviral treatment is available to treat COVID-19, as treatment is mostly directed at relieving the symptoms, and retrospectively, herbal medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years as a medicinal alternative, including for the treatment of various viral illnesses. The aim of this study is to conduct a survey in terms of identifying the area where the population commonly uses the medicinal plant in comparison to the cumulative number of COVID-19 reports in each area, including the classification of medicinal plants by type and a stepwise approach shown in the form of geographic information maps in those areas. An observational study on the cultivation of medicinal plants those folk healers commonly used for healing. beneficial for treatment and strengthening the immunity of the people in 9 provinces of Thailand. According to the situation of the spread of COVID-19, there are people infected in Thailand. In each area where medicinal plants were used, there was a significant positive result when compared to the cumulative COVID-19 incidence; the majority was with the lowest cumulative COVID-19 incidence and the most commonly used medicinal plants, such as Artemisia annua, Harrisonia perforate (Blanco) Merr, Capparis micracantha, Tacca leontopetaloides, Andrographis paniculata, Phyllanthus emblica, Ficus carica, Tiliacora triandra, Terminalia bilaria, and Cannabis indica. This study exercise may lend enough credence to the potential value of Thai medicinal plants (herbs) as possible leads in anti-COVID-19 drug discovery through research and development.
Background: Older people are at higher risk of suffering negative outcomes, including mental and physical health, during the social distancing for COVID-19 worldwide, with no exception in Thailand. Therefore, the aim of this phenomenal study is to establish the database system development of mental health care for the elderly during the COVID-19 public sentiment by using a geographic information system (GIS) to create a model database system.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted by an elderly survey using a four-stage stratified random sampling to select 1,647 respondents aged 60 and over from the six subdistrict health promotion hospitals in four provinces, respectively. Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression were used to analyze the data.
Results: The majority of the respondents were female (64.80%), aged 60–65 years (31.90%), and Buddhist (99.60%). Marital status: mostly married, live as a couple, or as a married couple (49.2%); level of education: mostly primary school (4th grade; 54.7%); not working (60.80%); average monthly income less than 1,000 baht (31.2%); with income sources, mostly from pensions (80.6%); income received is mostly inadequate (44.2%); and the majority had chronic diseases (58.8%), with mostly moderate health conditions in the last 6 months (44.3%). Significant factors affecting mental health problems or associated with stress in the elderly during the COVID-19 period were: participation in religious activities; daily activities (ability to perform basic daily activities); social support (from family, relatives, and friends); income; and anxiety during COVID-19. All of these factors could together predict the preventive behavior against mental health problems in the elderly during the COVID-19 period.
Conclusion: Based on the presented results, interdisciplinary healthcare teams should consider social support and access to healthcare when developing interventions for encouraging and promoting health outcomes in order to improve physical and psychological COVID-19 preventive behaviors and for the government in terms of increasing family income, particularly the oldest pension among elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
