Cervical cancer has emerged as the second biggest health threat for Thai women, killing about 17 women a day and 5,200 a year, the government has said.
Around 10,000 Thai women are being diagnosed with cancer of the cervix each year, state-news agency TNA quoted Deputy Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew as saying.
The minister said the fatal disease, found most frequently in women aged 45-55 years, ranks as the second biggest health threat for Thai women in the working age group along with the elderly.
The deputy health minister explained that the major cause of the disease was human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
As a measure to prevent the disease, the ministry has been mapping out a plan to promote Pap smear tests and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) tests among women.
If the tests could be conducted among 80 per cent of Thai women, or 17 million persons, it could help decrease the number of deaths by 61 per cent, said Dr Chonan, said.
