Sunday April 16, 01:32 PM
TUOL PRICH VILLAGE, Cambodia (AFP) - Choeun Ouk sat underneath his house, his face a mask of guilt and bewilderment.
Two days earlier his only child Mon Vuthy had died of bird flu, an illness that has inspired fear throughout much of the world but is virtually unknown in isolated Cambodian villages such as the one Choeun Ouk lives in.
"For several days before she died I just thought she was sick with a normal illness," he said.
Nearby sat a tank of disinfectant brought by government health workers who descended on Tuol Prich village, in Kompong Speu province, after three-year-old Mon Vuthy's death last month, the first from bird flu in almost a year. Several chickens still scratched in the dirt.
"I don't have any idea about this illness, so I did not take care," he said.
Bird flu has not struck Cambodia as hard as neighboring countries -- only six people have died of the H5N1 strain of the virus since 2003 and there has been no mass slaughter of poultry that has characterised containment efforts elsewhere.
But Mon Vuthy's death in mid-March and that of a 12-year-old boy in early April -- both children had either eaten or come into contact with dead chickens -- highlight another troubling obstacle in fighting outbreaks: ignorance.
"There has been a lot of effort, but there still is really very little awareness," said Michael O'Leary, the World Health Organisation's Cambodia representative.
Following a spate of bird flu deaths in early 2005, health officials focused their public education campaigns in only five of Cambodia's 24 provinces that were considered at most risk because they bordered Vietnam and Thailand, two countries worst-hit by the illness.
But elsewhere, poor farmers continued tending their small, backyard flocks, blaming a normal hot season die-off for the dead birds they found in their fields and eating the carcasses.
"People did not believe in bird flu at all. They thought it was a joke," said Vann Phal, Tuol Prich's deputy village chief.
"When there were dead ducks or chickens, the villagers did not bury them -- they cooked and ate them," he said.
The practice means bird flu could be seriously under-reported in Cambodia, officials said.
"We always assume that the cases we do see are not the complete picture. ... The fact that only two people have died (this year) suggests the problem is not widespread, but could we miss cases, yes," O'Leary told AFP.
Farmers in the impoverished agricultural country are also likely to resist efforts to combat outbreaks if it means culling valuable poultry. Cambodian health officials have reported villagers hiding their birds from inspectors.
"There is a difficulty in farmers not reporting to us when their chickens are sick. It's hard for us to take measures," said Khao Phal, the agriculture ministry's director of animal health.
Officials agree that a key reason for this is Cambodia's failure so far to compensate farmers for their losses.
The agriculture ministry tried briefly in 2004 to give cash for lost birds, but farmers who could not sell their poultry in the markets began mixing sick birds with healthy ones in order to get more money.
O'Leary said talks are on again to establish a compensation program.
"There is no new policy, but I think there is an awareness that to not compensate farmers whose flocks were culled makes it difficult for them to come forward," he said.
UN officials estimate it would cost 18 million dollars to fund a comprehensive effort to alert rural Cambodians to the dangers of bird flu and pay back those who lose poultry to government culls.
Mon Vuthy's death spurred Prime Minister Hun Sen to demand a renewed television and radio campaign, and in villages such as Tuol Prich houses and trees have been papered with colorful bird flu awareness posters.
But in Cambodia, officials warn that superstition and disbelief can undo even the most intensive public service programs, and say it usually takes a tragedy like Mon Vuthy's death to bring their message home.
"If the girl had died in Tuol Prich, we would have had no idea why," Vann Phal said.
"We were lucky she died in the hospital and the head official knew she died of bird flu. That could have saved our lives."
Two days earlier his only child Mon Vuthy had died of bird flu, an illness that has inspired fear throughout much of the world but is virtually unknown in isolated Cambodian villages such as the one Choeun Ouk lives in.
"For several days before she died I just thought she was sick with a normal illness," he said.
Nearby sat a tank of disinfectant brought by government health workers who descended on Tuol Prich village, in Kompong Speu province, after three-year-old Mon Vuthy's death last month, the first from bird flu in almost a year. Several chickens still scratched in the dirt.
"I don't have any idea about this illness, so I did not take care," he said.
Bird flu has not struck Cambodia as hard as neighboring countries -- only six people have died of the H5N1 strain of the virus since 2003 and there has been no mass slaughter of poultry that has characterised containment efforts elsewhere.
But Mon Vuthy's death in mid-March and that of a 12-year-old boy in early April -- both children had either eaten or come into contact with dead chickens -- highlight another troubling obstacle in fighting outbreaks: ignorance.
"There has been a lot of effort, but there still is really very little awareness," said Michael O'Leary, the World Health Organisation's Cambodia representative.
Following a spate of bird flu deaths in early 2005, health officials focused their public education campaigns in only five of Cambodia's 24 provinces that were considered at most risk because they bordered Vietnam and Thailand, two countries worst-hit by the illness.
But elsewhere, poor farmers continued tending their small, backyard flocks, blaming a normal hot season die-off for the dead birds they found in their fields and eating the carcasses.
"People did not believe in bird flu at all. They thought it was a joke," said Vann Phal, Tuol Prich's deputy village chief.
"When there were dead ducks or chickens, the villagers did not bury them -- they cooked and ate them," he said.
The practice means bird flu could be seriously under-reported in Cambodia, officials said.
"We always assume that the cases we do see are not the complete picture. ... The fact that only two people have died (this year) suggests the problem is not widespread, but could we miss cases, yes," O'Leary told AFP.
Farmers in the impoverished agricultural country are also likely to resist efforts to combat outbreaks if it means culling valuable poultry. Cambodian health officials have reported villagers hiding their birds from inspectors.
"There is a difficulty in farmers not reporting to us when their chickens are sick. It's hard for us to take measures," said Khao Phal, the agriculture ministry's director of animal health.
Officials agree that a key reason for this is Cambodia's failure so far to compensate farmers for their losses.
The agriculture ministry tried briefly in 2004 to give cash for lost birds, but farmers who could not sell their poultry in the markets began mixing sick birds with healthy ones in order to get more money.
O'Leary said talks are on again to establish a compensation program.
"There is no new policy, but I think there is an awareness that to not compensate farmers whose flocks were culled makes it difficult for them to come forward," he said.
UN officials estimate it would cost 18 million dollars to fund a comprehensive effort to alert rural Cambodians to the dangers of bird flu and pay back those who lose poultry to government culls.
Mon Vuthy's death spurred Prime Minister Hun Sen to demand a renewed television and radio campaign, and in villages such as Tuol Prich houses and trees have been papered with colorful bird flu awareness posters.
But in Cambodia, officials warn that superstition and disbelief can undo even the most intensive public service programs, and say it usually takes a tragedy like Mon Vuthy's death to bring their message home.
"If the girl had died in Tuol Prich, we would have had no idea why," Vann Phal said.
"We were lucky she died in the hospital and the head official knew she died of bird flu. That could have saved our lives."
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