In Kampong Thom, Bird Flu Doubts

By Pich Samnang, VOA Khmer
Original report from Kampong Thom province
09 April 2009

Poultry farmers in several villages of Kampong Thom province say they don’t care about bird flu prevention, claiming they have never seen an outbreak.

“Everyone here raises ducks, and they never wear gloves or masks,” Chheng Lay, who has 300 ducks in Svay Sar village, Stoung district, said. “Nothing happens to them.”

Cambodian authorities are working to educate villagers on the dangers of avian influenza, which health experts worry can mutate into a form that can be transmitted human-to-human. So far, seven Cambodians in bird flu outbreaks since 2005.

Not all villagers may believe in a bird flu threat, but the government and others continue to educate.

“We try to invent a story with information related to deaths of birds in their villages,” said Ou Bosophoan, director of the provincial agricultural department of Kampong Thom. “But we depend on all sectors, NGOs, the department itself, to educate people.”

Even if adults don’t get it yet, he said, they were working to teach the young and others, through various means.

“The most important thing is to educate young children in school and promote bird flu awareness through monks when they preach,” he said.

Doctor Outlines Methods to Prevent Bird Flu

Nuch Sarita, VOA Khmer
Washington
27 September 2007

Authorities in Mondolkiri province held a community forum Thursday to educate remote communities on bird flu, a doctor said Thursday.

The forum sought to educate villagers on how they can protect their poultry—and their families—from catching the deadly virus, said Dr. Rith Bunroeun, the avian influenza coordinator for Medicam, an umbrella organization of more than 100 health organizations in Cambodia.

Bird flu has killed seven Cambodians since 2005. There have been 22 poultry outbreaks in that time.

Newly purchased poultry should be kept separate from an existing flock for at least two weeks, Rith Bunroeun said, speaking as a guest on "Hello VOA."

"Keep birds that appear to be or are sick away from the rest of the flock," he said.

"Avian influenza can enter your farm when you introduce new poultry," the UN Food and Agricultural Organization warns on its Web site.

The disease "can be transmitted between different species," like chicken to pig, the agency says. "Ducks can become infected with avian influenza without showing any symptoms, and then transmit it to chickens."

Cambodia to educate remote communities about dangers of avian influenza

September 26, 2007

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Medicam will organize a community forum in Mondulkiri near the border with Vietnam on Thursday to educate remote communities about avian influenza and how they can protect their poultry and their families from contracting the deadly virus, said a press release on Tuesday.

"The event will be the first of a new series of community forums that Medicam, with support from FAO, will organize in areas of the country that have limited or zero access to TV and radio, to inform communities about the risks posed by avian influenza to their poultry and to their health," said Dr. Sin Somuny, Executive Director of Medicam, an umbrella organization of more than 100 health NGOs in Cambodia.

"The forum will veer away from the usual 'we tell you and you listen to us' speeches," said Guy Freeland, Team Leader of FAO's Avian Influenza Control Programme in Cambodia.

"We would like it to be an interactive exchange of information based on a consistent storyline depicted by a series of photographs that shows how avian influenza is transmitted from its source in poultry to other farms and villages," said Freeland.

The photo exhibit will be interspersed with posters promoting messages on how to stop the spread and protect both poultry and humans from the disease, said the release.

To reinforce the messages, TV and radio spots will be played continuously before the forum. Speakers and the audience are expected to engage in a two-way information exchange based on what is on the visual and verbal presentations, it added.

Cambodia has had 22 outbreaks in poultry since 2004 and seven human deaths, and the latest outbreak in poultry and in human was reported in Kampong Cham in April 2007.

Source: Xinhua