Roles of subdistrict health office personnel and village health volunteers in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Thailand, 40 000 subdistrict health centre (SDHC) personnel and >1 million village health volunteers (VHVs) are responsible for primary healthcare of 23 million households in 75 032 villages. They were trained, made household visits, gave hygiene advice, participated in the 'Big Cleaning Day' campaign, produced cloth face masks, proactively identified high-risk visitors and monitored quarantined cases. 7.4 million Thais received basic education on hygiene, 1.3 million villagers joined the campaign and 3.6 million handmade cloth face masks were produced. In March 2020, 3.9 million households were visited, and 40 000 high-risk cases were detected. The intensity of proactive case findings increased to 12.6 million home visits and 834 000 cases were detected in April 2020. Almost 800 000 cases complied with the 14-day mandatory home quarantine, of which 3.6% developed symptoms suspected of respiratory tract infection. VHVs and SDHC personnel could efficiently contribute to the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Thailand.

Evolution of Trans-fatty acid consumption in Thailand and strategies for its reduction.

Eliminating industrially produced trans-fatty acids (TFAs) from the food supply is one of the World Health Organization's (WHO's) priority targets to control and prevent non-communicable diseases. This review paper describes the strategies used to reduce TFA consumption in Thailand based on a situation analysis consisting of an assessment of TFA content in the national food supply, its intake, and stakeholder-based analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). The analysis resulted in the drafting of a regulatory approach, which was then considered by stakeholders. Bakery products containing partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) are the major sources of TFAs in Thailand. Palm and coconut oil as well as blending technology are locally available as PHO replacements. Thailand's Food and Drug Administration has taken legal action to prohibit the production, import, and distribution of PHOs and their products. Post-marketing TFA levels are currently being monitored, ie, TFAs in fat/oil and butter must not exceed 2% and 6% of fat content, respectively. For other food categories, TFAs must not exceed 0.5 g per serving unless the TFAs are from ruminant sources. The key factor to successfully reducing TFAs in Thailand is the partnership between public and private sectors, professional associations, and consumers, based on scientific evidence regarding the negative impact of TFA intake on cardiovascular health.