The Thai Tourist Board paints a pretty picture of the Land of Smiles and with good reason. The nation is blessed with beaches, ancient ruins, and forest mountains. The positives outweigh the negatives, however the authorities tend to rosy up the vision of their country and evaded issues of importance such as Dengue Fever.

This rainy season the Health Ministry admits dengue fever has claimed 21 lives out of 23,600 confirmed cases spread by the pesky mosquito. While this attrition rate is not as dangerous as being a truck driver in Iraq or a 7/11 clerk in LA, the situation can only get worse as the monsoon strengthens in July and August. Health officials are busy informing remote villagers of the fever’s dangers and their warnings should be heeded by tourist and farang residents.

Common prevention tactics to avoid mosquito bites.

Use mosquito repellents on skin and clothing. Thiti Phura is an excellent organic insect repellant. Bombing the room with Raid seems only to make the mozzies drunk for a little while and then they come back to life as blood-hungry flying zombies.

Wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers is good advice, however most farangs are committed to combining bad fashion sense with a minimal regard for health in the tropics. Thigh-high hot pants and a tank top tee shirt are the rage for beer-bellied men over 40 and no one ever wears socks with flip flops.

Whenever you sleep have a floor fan aimed at your bed, thus creating a no-fly zone for mozzies. Like Iraq prior to GW Bush’s War on Terror.

Eliminating standing water sounds good, but I live behind a nature reserve ie swamp. Home to a billion mosquitoes. Draining the swamp would take a million baht, so I resort to fans and repellant as the best defense, although an even better strategy is to stay with someone younger since the mosquitoes will seek sweeter blood. My wife is always asking why they bite her and not me.

“Gee, mai loo.”

Must be the bad oysters I eat.

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