Dengue antibodies may be making Thais immune to Covid-19

(The Nation Thailand) – Thailand may be luckier than other countries as a study from Brazil has revealed that former dengue patients have a low chance of dying from Covid-19.

Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs cited studies published on medRxiv revealing that dengue antibodies may boost immunity against Covid-19.

He said Thailand has more than 100,000 dengue patients every year, and many Thais take the BCG vaccine for tuberculosis to avoid dengue infections.

This, he said, may explain why there are far fewer Covid-19 cases here than in other countries.

However, Manoon said, people still need to follow preventive measures, including wearing face masks, washing hands and maintaining social distancing to prevent a second wave of infections.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Tuesday (Sept 29 )reported 14 cases in state quarantine over a 24-hour period.

The latest cases are:> Seven soldiers who returned home from a UN mission in South Sudan on September 22. They were found positive on September 26 in Chon Buri state quarantine.

> A 50-year-old woman and two 28-year-old women, who came home from Hong Kong on Sept 23. They tested positive on Sept 26 in the Bangkok state quarantine.

> A 44-year-old woman who returned from Turkey on September 22. She was found positive on September 26 in Bangkok state quarantine.

> Three Indians – a mother (31) and daughter (9 months) and a 34-year-old businessman – who arrived on September 23 and went into Bangkok alternative state quarantine at a hotel. They were found positive on September 26.

Meanwhile, one patient has recovered and been discharged. The number of confirmed cases in Thailand has now increased to 3,559 (621 in state quarantine).

Of these, 117 are in hospital and 3,369 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 59.Thailand ranks a safe 137th for most cases in the world.

The US has the most number, with 7.36 million, followed by India (6.1 million), Brazil (4.74 million), Russia (1.15 million) and Colombia (818,203).

According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed cases has increased to 33.5 million (rising by 230,547 in 24 hours).

Of these, 24.87 million have recovered, 7.66 million are active cases (65,318 of whom are in severe condition) and one million have died.