Health ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and their three counterparts from China, Japan and South Korea announced key measures yesterday to prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching the region.
Speaking after the meeting, Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin said the Asean-plus-three members will work closely on four outbreak prevention strategies.
The measures are cross-border outbreak prevention, building mechanisms to counter outbreaks, providing more communication channels and cooperating over research.
A hotline will be set up for the 13 health ministers.
"Preparedness is the key concept in protecting the region from Ebola, as we are closely connected by tourism, business and trade, particularly by international transportation," Dr Rajata said.
"If an outbreak occurs in one region, there will be a high risk of the disease spreading to other areas."
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who presided over the opening ceremony, said effective and proven measures were needed to prevent transnational disease.
He said the way to deal with the Ebola was through learning from Thailand's experiences in coping with previous deadly viruses.
"Mechanisms have been developed since the outbreak of Sars and avian influenza in Thailand, which I believe can be applied in this case," Gen Prayut said.
The premier also urged people to "be aware, but don't panic" because health agencies are ready to deal with the virus, which has killed more than 6,300 people, mostly in West Africa.
Asean secretary-general Le Luong Minh said he was still worried about the possibility of infection, even though Asean is far from the infection zones in west Africa.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it considers the epidemic in West Africa to be a "deep concern". According to the most recent statistics published on Wednesday, there have been 17,942 reported patients and 6,388 deaths — a mortality rate of 35%.
WHO director-general Margaret Chan delivered a video message to the meeting from Switzerland, offering suggestions for Asean in dealing with Ebola.
She shared the success stories of Nigeria and Senegal, which have prevented outbreaks thanks to good preparedness, effective preventive action and strong policies.