A Cambodian health worker collects blood samples from a duck at Korng Pisey district in Kampong Speu province, 45 kms west of Phnom Penh, March 2006. Cambodia has said it has identified a fresh outbreak of bird flu after a four-month lull, following the discovery of the H5N1 virus in poultry.(AFP/File/Khem Sovannara)PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia has said it has identified a fresh outbreak of bird flu after a four-month lull, following the discovery of the H5N1 virus in poultry.
The virus was detected on Friday in two ducks in Prey Veng province, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of the Cambodian capital, said an official from the agriculture ministry.
"We tested six ducks and two of them were positive," Kao Phal, director of the animal health department at the ministry, told AFP.
He added the government would slaughter some 400 ducks Saturday to prevent the virus from spreading.
Kao Phal said some 1,000 baby ducks were found dead last week in the province and urged villagers to report any information on the deadly virus to health authorities.
"So far we have not received any human bird flu cases from the province. But we ask villagers not to touch dead chickens," said Ly Sovann, the director of the health ministry's infectious disease department.
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.
But the kingdom is on high alert after new cases were discovered in Laos and Thailand last month.
The virus has so far killed 138 people worldwide, fewer than other types of flu, but experts fear the highly-lethal H5N1 strain could mutate to become transmissible between people, triggering a human pandemic.
The virus was detected on Friday in two ducks in Prey Veng province, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) east of the Cambodian capital, said an official from the agriculture ministry.
"We tested six ducks and two of them were positive," Kao Phal, director of the animal health department at the ministry, told AFP.
He added the government would slaughter some 400 ducks Saturday to prevent the virus from spreading.
Kao Phal said some 1,000 baby ducks were found dead last week in the province and urged villagers to report any information on the deadly virus to health authorities.
"So far we have not received any human bird flu cases from the province. But we ask villagers not to touch dead chickens," said Ly Sovann, the director of the health ministry's infectious disease department.
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.
But the kingdom is on high alert after new cases were discovered in Laos and Thailand last month.
The virus has so far killed 138 people worldwide, fewer than other types of flu, but experts fear the highly-lethal H5N1 strain could mutate to become transmissible between people, triggering a human pandemic.
No comments:
Post a Comment