Friday, March 24, 2006

Cambodia reports 5th bird flu death

A three-year-old girl has died of bird flu in Cambodia and seven other suspected cases have been reported in the first outbreak in the country in two years.

AFP news agency reports health ministry officials say the girl died on Tuesday in the capital Phnom Penh.

A spokesman from the health ministry's infectious disease department says samples from the dead girl and seven other people showing signs of the deadly H5N1 virus are being tested.

He says at least 42 other people who had contact with the suspected cases are also being tested.

The girl is the fifth victim of bird flu in Cambodia, adding to more than 100 deaths from the virus, mostly in Asia, since 2003.

ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia

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