Cablegate: Thailand Malaria Cases Rise As Burmese Refugees Cross

VZCZCXRO2102
PP RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0124 2190715
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070715Z AUG 06
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0244
INFO RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON PRIORITY 0018
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0517
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0278
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS

UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000124

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF SOCI TH BM
SUBJECT: THAILAND MALARIA CASES RISE AS BURMESE REFUGEES CROSS
BORDER

REF: CHIANG MAI 113

1. (U) SUMMARY. Continued instability in Burma could be
contributing to higher incidences of malaria in western Thailand
over the past two years, say health and refugee experts. The
past three rainy seasons have seen an increase in malaria
infections reported to Thai and NGO health officials and experts
predict infections among vulnerable populations such as Burmese
migrant workers and refugees will continue to increase. End
Summary.

2. (U) At the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Tak Province, health
officials specializing in treating Burmese refugees and
undocumented migrant workers report that malaria cases at the
clinic jumped 90 percent between 2004 and 2005 to 7,505. Mae Tao
founder Dr. Cynthia Maung said that with an early start to the
rainy season this year, she expects to treat an even larger
number by the end of 2006. Provincial health officials in Tak, a
densely forested province bordering Burma, also reported
significant increases from 2004 to 2005 (up 55 percent, to 3,315
cases), and expect 2006 to match last year's numbers.

3. (U) Thai health officials expressed concern that this year's
earlier rainy season will further exacerbate malaria and dengue
fever infections, but remained confident that government health
programs are capable of providing sufficient prevention and
treatment programs. However, NGO health workers fear that
populations that do not have ready access to Thai hospitals and
clinics will suffer more from exposure to mosquito-borne
diseases and other ailments.

4. (U) Mae Sot-based NGO workers involved in assisting refugees
and migrant workers from Burma said that these high-risk
populations face challenges from two fronts. First, instability
in Burma has pushed many Burmese - especially ethnic Karen -
into Thailand or remote jungle areas within Burma. Second,
periodic raids by Thai immigration officials on undocumented
workers make many illegal Burmese fearful of going to Thai
clinics to seek medical treatment. Whether hiding from State
Peace and Development Council military forces in the Burmese
jungle or avoiding Thai immigration police in Mae Sot, refugees
and migrant workers are less likely to use anti-malarial
medication or prevention measures, such as mosquito nets, and
less likely to receive proper treatment if infected.

5. (U) COMMENT: With continued instability in Karen State (see
reftel), more refugees are crossing into Thailand, straining
Thai and NGO medical resources. Burma's volatility creates
cross-border concerns not just for immediate refugee assistance,
but also longer-term issues, such as health care and disease
prevention. The Mae Tao Clinic now treats more than 80,000
patients a year, with many patients crossing from Burma into
Thailand specifically for treatment at the center. Moreover, the
Democratic Voice of Burma estimates there are 100,000 Burmese
workers in Mae Sot alone, with half living there illegally. The
increased vulnerability to disease this large population of
political and economic refugees faces is yet one more reminder
of the transnational consequences of instability in Burma. End
Comment.

CAMP

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