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Fri Oct 17, 7:38 AM ET |
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BANGKOK (AFP) - A flap erupted over medical checks for catering workers at the APEC (news - web sites) summit in Thailand, who were required to submit to rectal swabs to determine they are disease-free.
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Chefs and waiters at the 16 hotels hosting world leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit have undergone the checks to ensure they are not infected with typhoid or other parasites.
An opposition MP slammed the tests, saying he had received a complaint from an executive at one of the hotels.
"It's over the top," Akapol Sorasuchart told Friday's The Nation newspaper.
Health minister Sudarat Keyuraphan called for calm and defended the ministry's checks.
"Let's not overreact. This is necessary and in line with international practice to ensure that workers are free from digestive diseases," she said.
The workers themselves appear to have taken the measure in their stride.
"We have never had rectal swab tests before. This is the first time, but we won't complain because we know this is a western standard," said a public relations official from the Grand Hyatt Erawan, where the United States delegation is staying.
Sompasong Saetang, a cook at the media canteen, also shrugged off the tests.
"We know it is a security standard. It's good because we will know whether anything is wrong with our health," she said.
The results were all normal, said Somsong Rugpao, the director-general of the ministry's medical science department.
Thailand's top chefs are among those rustling up the kingdom's best cuisine for political heavyweights attending the summit including US President George W. Bush (news - web sites), his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and Russia's Vladimir Putin (news - web sites).
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