Thailand's Public Health Ministry on Thursday started distributing to the Thai people handbooks with preventive steps to fight the A/H1N1 flu virus.

Earlier on Thursday, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai announced 113 more Thais were confirmed to have caught the new virus, bring the country's total number to 518.

The ministry has produced one million of the handbooks with preventive steps to fight the A/H1N1 flu virus, he said.

Witthaya together with senior officials from the ministry, with a campaign to fight the new virus, distributed some 100,000 handbooks to people at the Victory Monument in the center of capital Bangkok.

Also, the handbooks will be sent to hospitals and public health stations across the country, Witthaya said.

The handbooks, with preventive steps, including often hand washing and wearing face masks, to fight the A/H1N1 flu virus, later will be redistributed to the Thai people, he said.

On May 12, the Health Ministry announced the country's first two confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases. According to the World Health Organization, Thailand ranked 33rd as the country, which has been hit by the deadly new virus.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)