Cambodia quarantines Japanese couple suspected of having swine flu

Mon, 25 May 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - Cambodian health authorities said Monday they were waiting on test results for a Japanese couple who showed symptoms of swine flu after travelling by air from Vietnam to the northern town of Siem Reap. Bun Artha, director of civil aviation at Siem Reap International Airport, said the couple, a 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, was taken to hospital after thermal imaging equipment detected both had high temperatures as they exited a flight from Ho Chi Minh City.

"They arrived in Siem Reap on Sunday evening after spending four days in Vietnam and both were taken immediately to Siem Reap hospital," he said.

Em Bun, director of Siem Reap hospital, said the couple was placed in voluntary quarantine and doctors were waiting on test results to return from a pathology lab in the capital Phnom Penh.

"The couple reported that they had suffered food poisoning in Vietnam and had recovered from ordinary flu just before they left Japan," he said. "Phnom Penh is several hundred kilometers away, so it will take some time for the results to be confirmed and for us to know whether they have the H1N1 virus."

Health authorities on Sunday confirmed there were no cases of swine flu in Cambodia after test results came back negative for three US citizens exposed to the potentially deadly virus during a flight from the US to South Korea.

Pig Farmers Take Measures To Prevent Flu

By Reporters, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
07 May 2009

Sixty-eight-year-old farmer Nov Bay stands as far from a pigpen as possible as he pours food into troughs for his 25 swine. He is, he says, aware of the H1N1 virus and wants to prevent an outbreak.

“Having heard about the outspread of swine flu, I try to feed the pigs from far away because of the fear the virus would infect me,” he says.

Nov Bay is one of many pig farmers in Dey Eth-Kosh Posh village of Kandal province, about 30 kilometers from Phnom Penh, who say they are taking similar measures to prevent illness from the virus.

Sometimes called “swine flu,” the H1N1 virus emerged in cases around the world in recent weeks, raising concerns of a global pandemic.

Mexico, thought to be the epicenter of the disease, closed down all but the most essential functions last week, while nearly 300 guests and staff were quarantined at a hotel in Hong Kong.

No cases have been reported in Cambodia, but, thanks to experience with SARS and bird flu, the population is acutely aware of the dangers of spreading epidemics.

Rushing into a light rain beneath a thundering sky, Meas Thon pulls a blue covering over his 350 pigs, fearing they could become infected by H1N1. He has begun spraying an anti-viral drug on his pigs four times a week, he says, four times more than normal.

“Now I have to be more careful,” he says. “I am so worried, as I have only one job. Without pigs, everything is over.”

The nature and severity of the virus remain a mystery, as world health experts continue to track and test the disease. Officials say there is no reason to believe eating pork will lead to infection, and Cambodia has not restricted the import of pork.

Michael O’Leary, the World Health Organization’s Cambodia representative, said that although the virus is passed human to human, pig farmers should take care of their animals for general health concerns.

“It’s a time for alert, concern, cooperation,” he said, urging no-nonsense measures to disease prevention, “such as hand washing and covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.”

Doctor Outlines Swine Flu Prevention

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
01 May 2009

As cases of swine flu continued to emerge around the globe, a leading health official warned Cambodians to take everyday precautions against the disease.

Coughs and sneezes should be covered by the hand, and spitting in public should be avoided, said Dr. Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease control department, as a guest Thursday on “Hello VOA.”

“People should wash their hands regularly to avoid the virus,” he said, adding that it was still considered safe to eat pork.

Sok Touch encouraged people to remain calm about the disease, which emerged in Mexico and has spread as far as Canada, Europe, South America and New Zealand.

Cambodia is prepared for an outbreak, he said, because it has put structures in place since dealing with SARS and the bird flu in the past and has close cooperation with the World Health Organization.

Symptoms for swine flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, appear as normal flu, but attack the lungs. Patients can die within seven days of contracting the virus, he said.

The virus appears to spread easily from person to person, but Sok Touch said Thursday the virus could come from directly touching a sick pig.

Cambodians suspicious of an outbreak should call the government’s hotline, at 012 488 981 or 089 669 567.