Boys lost weight but show no serious signs of illness

CHIANG RAI: Most of the 12 boys rescued from inside a Thai cave on Tuesday lost an average of 2kg during their ordeal but are otherwise in good health, a senior official said in the latest health update on the boys.

“From our assessment, they are in good condition and not stressed. Most of the boys lost an average of 2kg,” Dr Thongchai Lertwilairatana-pong, an inspector for Thailand’s health department, said.

“None of them have serious condition deriving from lack of food. You can stay for months without food, but they were not without water,” Dr Thongchai added.

“And because they stayed together, their emotions were under control. They helped each other out, thanks to the management of the coach (Ekkapol Chantawong).”

“One person among the last five rescued and sent here on Tuesday evening showed signs of lung infection,” he said at a press conference held at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh hospital yesterday.

All 12 boys, aged between 11 and 16, and their 25-year-old coach are receiving medical care at the hospital. Two other boys have been treated for mild pneumonia.

The boys in the third group and their coach have been given antibiotics, and rabies and tetanus vaccines.

Their blood samples have also been sent to a lab in Bangkok to check for signs of any diseases they may have picked up from the Tham Luang cave.

The lab results for the first two groups show no signs of melioidosis, leptospirosis, scrub typhus or nipah virus.

Doctors had feared the boys might be exposed to diseases carried by bats, a fungal infection sometimes called “cave disease” or water-borne bacterial disease leptospirosis during the prolonged period they spent underground.

The boys said they had not seen bats or any other animals while in the cave.

 

 

They entered the Tham Luang cave near the border with Myanmar on June 23 and flash floods forced them to seek refugee on higher ground deep in the 10km-long cave.

“Almost all of the boys have been found to have high level of white blood cells, a sign of infection. So antibiotics are being given,” said Dr Thongchai.

“They will be assessed one by one when they can stop receiving antibiotics.”

The first of the last group arrived at the hospital at 6.34pm on Tuesday.

Unlike the first two groups that were rescued on Sunday and Monday, the five freed on Tuesday have normal blood pressure and normal body temperature.

One of the boys in the second group had very low body temperature and an unusually low pulse. After being treated, all eight were now in good condition, according to officials on Tuesday.

“The first eight boys who arrived here are still in their beds,” said Dr Thongchai, adding that families of the first and second groups are allowed to visit them.

The visitors have to wear protection suits and be at least 2m away from them. No physical contact is allowed.

Local media has reported that the boys and the coach were given anti-anxiety medicine before taking their journey out of the cave, a claim rejected by Dr Thongchai.

Some of the boys’ requests to watch TV have been denied pending consultations with psychiatrists.

Dr Ananya Sinrachatanant, a psychiatrist from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said the mental health of all survivors remains fragile as they have just survived a traumatic experience. — The Straits Times/Asia News Network