Samui’s Public Health Department says the swine-flu situation on the island could worsen before it gets better.

Dr. Nattawut Prasertsiriphong, chief of the department, told Samui Express that the spread of the H1N1 virus is widening.

He confirmed that so far Samui had five cases of swine flu. All five – four foreigners and a local – now feel better and have recovered.

Dr. Nattawut said the five patients got the virus not on the island but somewhere else. The only local to get infected, a young boy, got the virus in his school in Bangkok, according to him.

His school was shut down temporarily after H1N1 cases were discovered among its students.

The four foreigners, he added, had swine-flu before coming to Samui.

Koh Phangan remains free of the virus so far. But with the virus spreading rapidly in the country, it could have its first case anytime. “The swine-flu virus is spreading rapidly and there’s no way for Samui and Phangan to avoid it. If Samui is hit severely by swine flu, which I think could happen, the only thing tourists and residents could do is to seek immediate treatment,” Dr. Nattawut said.

Dr. Nattawut said all hospitals on the island were all prepared to deal with the situation.

Addressing rumors that a banker with swine flu was turned away by a private hospital on Samui for fear future patients might go elsewhere, he said he didn’t know about it.

But he suggested that patients with flu-like symptoms should go to a government hospital.  In fact, the government hospital in Nathon is better equipped to deal with the problem, he said.

Tourists arriving on Samui get free masks at the airport as part of the island’s efforts to control the spread of the disease.

The Koh Samui Municipality has also bought thousands of face masks and hand gel for distribution to the various schools on the island.

Deputy mayor Suraphong Vittayanon said students are most vulnerable to swine flu as they met daily in a room.

There have been 35 swine flu cases reported in the whole province of Suratthani so far, he said. One of these patients has died, he said.