Five more people die as a result of illegal logging in Thailand

A record season of floods caused by illegal logging has been followed by disease in what were once some of Thailand's most beautiful places to live.

This has been going on for a long time, with known consequences. Those behind the illegal logging in the north should be charged with murder.

Swamp fever kills five in Nan

Five people have already died as a result of leptospirosis in the aftermath of the major floods in Nan province.

Dr Pisit Sriprasert, the province's chief health officer, said villagers had become tense and a team of counsellors had been dispatched to alleviate the situation.

Some 43 people are still hospitalised for various reasons.

Pisit urged all rescue volunteers to take anti-bacterial pills, especially people with open wounds. Although some people's wounds have healed, they still need to have injections, especially if exposed to floodwater. The Ministry of Public Health has been deployed to disinfect the area.

Meanwhile, two female students in Phitsanulok province drowned when they fell into a deep canal, which they were unaware of due to nearby flooding.

Water in the area reached heights of 30-50 centimetres and it took one hour for a search team to recover the bodies.