Am I crazy not to cancel my trip to Thailand

[ariolanine]

Regardless, you're just as likely to be catching SARS in the US or Australia as you are in Thailand.

No offense guy, but you shouldn't be giving medical advice if you honestly believe this. Thailand is infested with every disease known to man. The proliferation of prostitution and incredibly cheap prices attract the lowest forms of humanity imaginable. There are plenty of chinese people and prostitutes roaming around Bangkok. Buy yourself a real gask mask, fly in, buy your gear, stay at the best hotel you can afford, leave next day. Put the gaskmask on as soon as you land and don't take it off until you exit the return flight in America.

 

[plornive]

No offense guy, but you shouldn't be giving medical advice if you honestly believe this. Thailand is infested with every disease known to man. The proliferation of prostitution and incredibly cheap prices attract the lowest forms of humanity imaginable. There are plenty of chinese people and prostitutes roaming around Bangkok. Buy yourself a real gask mask, fly in, buy your gear, stay at the best hotel you can afford, leave next day. Put the gaskmask on as soon as you land and don't take it off until you exit the return flight in America.

Where do you get your information? How do you formulate your opinions? There must be some process. Explain. I'm extremely curious...

There have been 7 cases of SARS in Thailand. 7. I think all of them have either recovered or died. If you go to Thailand, they might be afraid you have SARS.

Thailand is better than a lot of other countries as far as disease goes. About 3% of the population is HIV+. You don't get HIV by walking down the street. There are pockets of prostitutes frequented by westerners, giving Thailand it's reputation as the whore house of the world. Thai girls are horny and they look good too, making Thailand famous for it's women. There are more prostitutes per capita in Taiwan.

I'm not being politically correct, I'm simply presenting the facts. Also, Chinese people can't just go into Thailand at will now because of quarantines, which is reflected by the non-existance of SARS in Thailand. The Chinese in Thailand right now are mostly residents of Thailand, speak Thai language and live in Thailand permanently. If you want more details, let me know.

 

[ariolanine]

Where do you get your information? How do you formulate your opinions? There must be some process. Explain. I'm extremely curious...

There have been 7 cases of SARS in Thailand. 7. I think all of them have either recovered or died. If you go to Thailand, they might be afraid you have SARS.

Thailand is better than a lot of other countries as far as disease goes. About 3% of the population is HIV+. You don't get HIV by walking down the street. There are pockets of prostitutes frequented by westerners, giving Thailand it's reputation as the whore house of the world. Thai girls are horny and they look good too, making Thailand famous for it's women. There are more prostitutes per capita in Taiwan.

I'm not being politically correct, I'm simply presenting the facts. Also, Chinese people can't just go into Thailand at will now because of quarantines, which is reflected by the non-existance of SARS in Thailand. The Chinese in Thailand right now are mostly residents of Thailand, speak Thai language and live in Thailand permanently. If you want more details, let me know.

Simple G, common sense. Disease is for the most part a bi-product of filth. Southeast Asia is full of diseases that have been irradicated elsewhere. In addition, most of Asia is poor. Poor people are dirty. Dirty people carry disease. I know that is a rather simplistic view, but that doesn't make it any less true. As for the absolute technical data about SARS and HIV--- I don't care. You are more likely to get any communicable disease anywhere outside the USA than you are in it. I bet your ass is wearing a surgical mask right now.

 

[plornive]

Simple G, common sense. Disease is for the most part a bi-product of filth. Southeast Asia is full of diseases that have been irradicated elsewhere. In addition, most of Asia is poor. Poor people are dirty. Dirty people carry disease. I know that is a rather simplistic view, but that doesn't make it any less true. As for the absolute technical data about SARS and HIV--- I don't care. You are more likely to get any communicable disease anywhere outside the USA than you are in it. I bet your ass is wearing a surgical mask right now.

The statistics in Thailand are accurate. The statistics in China are the ones to be wary of. The fact is, there have been less than 10 cases of SARS in Thailand out of tens of millions. I guess you trust your "common sense" more than real world data. Or perhaps you are backing out of your argument that SARS is a threat in Thailand. That would be the rational choice.

People going in and out of Thailand right now are checked for elevated temperatures. Quarantines are enforced strictly. The conference on combatting SARS in Asia was held in Bangkok. Thailand has it's share of infectious diseases, but this doesn't correspond to SARS. Once again, there have been less than 10 cases of SARS in Thailand. Although you may not like it, you are much more likely to get SARS in North America than in Thailand.

I don't wear a surgical mask unless I am required to for an official occasion. It's not very comfortable. But a lot of people do. This is Hong Kong, where SARS hit the hardest on a per capita basis. this makes sense here. I think masks reduce transmission on a macroscopic level, but gives minimal benifit to the individual.

And I know that Thailand has a higher prevalence of STDs, hepatitis and malaria than North America. This is irrelevant if you have been vaccinated for hepatitis and don't have sex. Malaria isn't very prevalent in Thailand, and you definitely won't get it in Bangkok.

Once again, I'm just presenting the facts, which are backed by real world observations which may be considered to be superior to your "common sense".

 

[ariolanine]

Although you may not like it, you are much more likely to get SARS in North America than in Thailand.

B]

How's that?

 

[plornive]

How's that?

[avg. # daily infections] / [population]

Take just the US and canada, which continues to have a few new infections every day, and compare it to Thailand, which does not. According to this trend, every average day, a North American (in US and Canada) is more likely to get SARS than someone in Thailand. Even if you are a white guy who doesn't go near Chinese people in North America, you are less likely to get SARS in Thailand than North America because SARS basically doesn't exist in Thailand.

It's obvious. I'm not going to explain it anymore.