Stomach bug hits Rohingya

KANCHANABURI - Police have taken 16 Rohingya men to hospital after they suddenly developed stomach pains after breakfast on Friday.

Somjate Laoluekiat, director of Phaholpolpayuhasaena Hospital, said the patients had mild stomach aches and suggested that the cause might be from food poisoning.

Pol Lt Col Artorn Wongjaikuer, deputy superintendent of the Kanchanaburi Immigration Bureau, said that 150 Rohingya people ate the same food but only 16 of them got sick.

He said that if the illness had been because of the food, then the number of sick people should be higher.

However, he noticed that not all the illegal migrants ate with the utensils provided, using their hands instead, so they might have picked up some bacteria that caused stomach problems.

The patients will undergo further medical examinations, and the meals that the migrants consumed will also be investigated, Dr Somjate said.

According to the Immigration Police Bureau, 1,772 Rohingya have been found to have entered Thailand illegally from Jan 9 to Feb 13. Most of them are believed to come from Myanmar.

Thailand is sheltering them as illegal migrants, mostly in the southern provinces and other places including Kanchanaburi.

However, authorities have said the country will only commit to care for the Rohingya for six months, and they are hoping to work out a solution with the UN and/or other countries including Myanmar.