A Cambodian health worker collects dead ducks in Kampong Speu province, where three-year-old died of bird flu. Three Cambodians feared to have caught bird flu following the death of a toddler from the H5N1 virus were cleared by hospital officials. (Photo AFP)Monday • March 27, 2006
Three suspected Cambodian bird flu cases cleared
Three Cambodians feared to have caught bird flu following the death of a toddler from the H5N1 virus were cleared by hospital officials.
"The three are negative for the bird flu virus," said Heng Taikry, director of Calmette hospital where the villagers were being treated for fever and respiratory problems.
The three came from a village next to that of three-year-old Mon Vuthy, who died last Tuesday after being infected with H5N1.
She is the first bird flu death in Cambodia this year and the fifth since 2003.
Health officials said the toddler became ill after playing with chickens in her Phum Tuol Prich village in Kompong Speu province, 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh.
But authorities have found no traces of the H5N1 virus in poultry there, leaving it unclear how the child fell ill, officials said Monday.
"The initial tests of the samples show that the poultry are negative for bird flu," said Kao Phal, director for the agriculture ministry's Department of Animal Health.
Some 200 chickens and ducks died in the village before the girl fell ill, though some had either been eaten or buried by villagers.
Kao Phal said health workers were expanding their search for sick birds beyond Phum Tuol Prich village, suggesting Mon Vuthy might have caught bird flu after coming into contact with droppings from infected wild birds.
"Wild birds need no any visas or passports, they can fly everywhere," he said.
The World Health Organisation expressed "great concern" Sunday over Cambodia's latest bird flu outbreak.
WHO representative Michael O'Leary told AFP Sunday the fact that no H5N1 had been found in poultry was troubling because it meant people were coming into contact with sick birds that the authorities were unaware of.
Cambodia's last outbreak of bird flu in humans occurred in early 2005. The virus has been found in ducks in the eastern province of Kompong Cham twice since February, triggering the slaughter of hundreds of birds.
Thousands of birds smuggled in from neighbouring Vietnam, where 42 people have died from bird flu since December 2004, have also been destroyed in recent months.
Most poultry in Cambodia is raised on small farms or in backyards, making it difficult to prevent the spread of the virus.
World Health Organisation figures show that bird flu has killed more than 100 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia. — AFP
"The three are negative for the bird flu virus," said Heng Taikry, director of Calmette hospital where the villagers were being treated for fever and respiratory problems.
The three came from a village next to that of three-year-old Mon Vuthy, who died last Tuesday after being infected with H5N1.
She is the first bird flu death in Cambodia this year and the fifth since 2003.
Health officials said the toddler became ill after playing with chickens in her Phum Tuol Prich village in Kompong Speu province, 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of the capital Phnom Penh.
But authorities have found no traces of the H5N1 virus in poultry there, leaving it unclear how the child fell ill, officials said Monday.
"The initial tests of the samples show that the poultry are negative for bird flu," said Kao Phal, director for the agriculture ministry's Department of Animal Health.
Some 200 chickens and ducks died in the village before the girl fell ill, though some had either been eaten or buried by villagers.
Kao Phal said health workers were expanding their search for sick birds beyond Phum Tuol Prich village, suggesting Mon Vuthy might have caught bird flu after coming into contact with droppings from infected wild birds.
"Wild birds need no any visas or passports, they can fly everywhere," he said.
The World Health Organisation expressed "great concern" Sunday over Cambodia's latest bird flu outbreak.
WHO representative Michael O'Leary told AFP Sunday the fact that no H5N1 had been found in poultry was troubling because it meant people were coming into contact with sick birds that the authorities were unaware of.
Cambodia's last outbreak of bird flu in humans occurred in early 2005. The virus has been found in ducks in the eastern province of Kompong Cham twice since February, triggering the slaughter of hundreds of birds.
Thousands of birds smuggled in from neighbouring Vietnam, where 42 people have died from bird flu since December 2004, have also been destroyed in recent months.
Most poultry in Cambodia is raised on small farms or in backyards, making it difficult to prevent the spread of the virus.
World Health Organisation figures show that bird flu has killed more than 100 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia. — AFP
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