Monday, April 09, 2007

Cambodia's seventh death over bird flu isolated

A Cambodia girl feeds her fighting cock at Kong Pisey district in Kampong Speu province, 50 km (31 miles) west of Phnom Penh, April 7, 2007. A 13-year-old Cambodian girl has died of bird flu, bringing the country's death toll from the H5N1 virus to seven since 2003, the World Health Organization and the government said on Friday in a joint statement. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

PHNOM PENH, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The death of a 13-year-old girl over bird flu in Kampong Cham province on April 5 was an isolated case, local media Monday quoted health official as saying.

An investigation of those who had contacted her at her home and the hospital where she was treated has turned up negative results thus far, English newspaper the Cambodian Daily quoted Micheal O' Leary, the World Health Organization's (WHO) country representative as saying.

"So far, this looks to be one isolated case," he said.

The girl was the seventh victim of the epidemic for the kingdom. She was known to have prepared and eaten a sick chicken from near her house before her death.

Right after her death, a team of investigators from he Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and WHO went to the field to determine whether there are any more cases.

At the beginning of this month, WHO just concluded a regional mock exercise to transfer anti-bird flu drugs from the stockpile site in Singapore to Cambodia in order to contain a possible bird flu spread among human beings.

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