Phuket Health Authorizes Dispute Aussie Pad Thai “Zombie” Claims

PHUKET – The Disease Control Department and the Phuket health office is investigating claims an Australian couple became zombies for over a year after eating pad Thai at a Phuket Mall.

Dr Thanit Sermkaew, chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office says it’s cooked at high temperature and unlikely to be the cause.

Dr Sermkaew was responding to an article in Australian media about an Australian couple’s claim they were infected by a parasite in 2017 from pad Thai they consumed at a Phuket food court.

“Pad Thai is a local and popular food.

People regularly eat it and do not suffer such problems because pad Thai is cooked at extremely high heat and diseases cannot survive it,” he said.

The couple, who run a good health and well-being business online, complained of having fever and cold sores and being bloated and ill for more than a year.

They said they would never go back to an Asian country.

The Disease Control Department and the Phuket health office had asked local hospitals if they had any information about the Australian couple falling ill, Dr Thanit said.

They were also seeking information from Australia, and ensuring strict enforcement of food hygiene measures, he said.

Kongsak Khupongsakorn, president of the Thailand Southern Hotel Association, said the report affected the country’s image, and the strict enforcement of health measures at restaurants and for street food would be helpful.

Source: Phuket News, The Nation