Phnom Penh (dpa) - Two Cambodian farmers who smuggled birds from the site of another outbreak of bird flu are believed to have spread the disease and sparked two new outbreaks in a neighbouring province, officials said Saturday.
The Agriculture chief of Kampong Cham province, Kong Chean, said that the H5N1 strain of bird flu, or avian influenza had been confirmed in ducks in the Tbong Khmom and Batheay districts after thousands of ducks had died.
He said that 2,000 ducks had now died or been destroyed in Batheay and another 1,000 in Tbong Khmom.
"It appears people illegally brought ducks here from Prey Veng province when the disease broke out there last week, and they have spread the disease," Chean said.
Seang Han, 60, and a 53-year-old woman, Svay Em, had been educated regarding their mistake in transporting the birds but would not face criminal charges, authorities said.
The couple transported the nearly 1,000 ducks on August 10, possibly to avoid financial losses they believed culling would incur. Their actions were discovered on Monday, and bird flu was confirmed Friday.
National director of animal health Keo Phal said that the areas surrounding the new outbreaks, which lie in the country's northeast, around 130 kilometres from the capital, had been quarantined, and officials had been warned that their jobs were on the line if they allowed birds to be moved from the area before it was cleared of the disease.
He said that the disease had so far not affected any humans. The World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry officials were monitoring people in the area and will test anyone who shows any symptoms or was in close proximity to infected birds.
Meanwhile, authorities in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province have destroyed more than 16,000 eggs in markets after vendors were unable to provide proof that their products had not been smuggled in from neighbouring Thailand. Cambodia has banned poultry imports from the country after Thailand recently reported new outbreaks of avian influenza.
Cambodia has so far suffered six confirmed human deaths from the disease. The most recent was a teenaged boy who lived very close to the site of last week's outbreak in Prey Veng, which has now spread to Kampong Cham.
The Agriculture chief of Kampong Cham province, Kong Chean, said that the H5N1 strain of bird flu, or avian influenza had been confirmed in ducks in the Tbong Khmom and Batheay districts after thousands of ducks had died.
He said that 2,000 ducks had now died or been destroyed in Batheay and another 1,000 in Tbong Khmom.
"It appears people illegally brought ducks here from Prey Veng province when the disease broke out there last week, and they have spread the disease," Chean said.
Seang Han, 60, and a 53-year-old woman, Svay Em, had been educated regarding their mistake in transporting the birds but would not face criminal charges, authorities said.
The couple transported the nearly 1,000 ducks on August 10, possibly to avoid financial losses they believed culling would incur. Their actions were discovered on Monday, and bird flu was confirmed Friday.
National director of animal health Keo Phal said that the areas surrounding the new outbreaks, which lie in the country's northeast, around 130 kilometres from the capital, had been quarantined, and officials had been warned that their jobs were on the line if they allowed birds to be moved from the area before it was cleared of the disease.
He said that the disease had so far not affected any humans. The World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry officials were monitoring people in the area and will test anyone who shows any symptoms or was in close proximity to infected birds.
Meanwhile, authorities in northwestern Banteay Meanchey province have destroyed more than 16,000 eggs in markets after vendors were unable to provide proof that their products had not been smuggled in from neighbouring Thailand. Cambodia has banned poultry imports from the country after Thailand recently reported new outbreaks of avian influenza.
Cambodia has so far suffered six confirmed human deaths from the disease. The most recent was a teenaged boy who lived very close to the site of last week's outbreak in Prey Veng, which has now spread to Kampong Cham.
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