In Battambang, an Absence of Bird Flu Fear

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 April 2009

Poultry vendors in Battambang province say they don’t always follow safety precautions for handling birds, mainly because they aren’t afraid of the bird flu virus, even as health authorities are working to prioritize areas to mitigate the threat.

Sitting on a box full of chickens, Yoern Yean, 31, told VOA Khmer recently he had been running his business for five years and never uses gloves to handle the birds.

Another vendor, Vy Savuth, 42, said he only buys healthy birds, so bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, was not a concern.

“I touch chickens every day, for 10 years already, by neither my wife nor I have ever had the bird flu virus,” he said.

Seven Cambodians have died from the bird flu virus, in eight outbreaks since 2005, making the country a target in the fight against the disease. Health officials worry that one day the disease could mutate into a form that could easily spread from human to human, creating a global pandemic.

“I never wear a mask or gloves,” said Meas Vy, 36, as she held a chicken in her arms. “I’m not afraid of the H5N1 virus.”

Pen Setha, director of the provincial animal health office, said market vendors are taught to use gloves and masks while handling birds, “but they don’t follow us.”

Health officials are seeking to change that behavior, especially in the districts of Samlot, Kamreang, Sampov Loun and Phnom Phroek, which are close to Thailand and therefore a greater threat.

Cambodia uses karaoke to spread bird flu message

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodian authorities will use a karaoke video starring a popular local singer to try to raise awareness of bird flu.

The video is part of a United Nations-sponsored health program, to alert people to the dangers of transporting poultry in the lead-up to the Khmer New Year holiday in mid-April.

During the celebrations Cambodians traditionally serve chicken and duck dishes.

The video encourages farmers to wash their hands and keep their poultry pens clean.

It urges them to keep children away from poultry, and report sick and dead birds to local authorities.

In Takeo, Most Bird Flu Warnings Headed (heeded?)

By Chiep Mony, VOA Khmer
Original report from Takeo province
25 February 2009

Neak Kob, 58, has raised poultry at his house in Rovieng commune, Samrong district, Takeo province, for nearly three years. He now raises 25 chickens and 13 ducks. Displaying boots, gloves and masks recently, Neak Kob said he and his family understand well bird flu, and he described taking many measures against the disease.

“We must separate the ill birds and not keep those [to be with healthy birds],” he said. “They could spread their illness to the others.”

Takeo villagers have never suffered an outbreak of bird flu, a disease caused by the H5N1 virus, which is carried by birds and has killed seven people in other provinces of Cambodia.

Many in Samrong district said they understand bird flu, having watched educational spots on how to prevent the disease on local television; sometimes they were trained by veterinarians in the villages.

“Bird flu is more dangerous than AIDS because it could kill us within days,” said one of villagers in Rovieng commune, Prak Vannak, 23.

Thai Ly, head of animal health and production for the Ministry of Agriculture in Takeo, noted that villagers in Samrong district have more understanding about how to raise birds and prevent bird flu than villagers in other districts of the province because they have raised more birds than other district villagers.

“Our officials always advised them to be cautious, by wearing masks, and advised them not to touch and eat ill and dead birds and so on,” he said.

However, some farmers in Takeo say they continue touching and eating ill ducks, despite the warnings.

Meanwhile, animal health officials in Takeo are warning farmers not to allow their ducks to mingle with the ducks of Vietnamese farmers aimed at avoiding bird flu.

Every year, Cambodian farmers finish their harvest of dry season rice in February, while Vietnamese farmers finish in March. After the harvest, farmers of both countries take their ducks to eat rice grains and small fish in the paddies.

Bird flu has killed 254 people worldwide, 52 of them in Vietnam.

Cambodia, FAO vigilant over re-occurrence of bird flu

PHNOM PENH, June 17 (Xinhua) -- It is important for Cambodia to remain vigilant for possible re-occurrence of avian influenza, as Cambodia shares borders with Vietnam and Thailand where outbreaks of the pathogenic virus continued to occur, said a statement here Tuesday.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in their joint statement said that they have been organizing public awareness and education activities to warn Cambodians of the danger avian influenza poses to their poultry and to their health.

Village meetings in Svay Rieng, Takeo, Kampong Cham and Kampot provinces, all bordering Vietnam, have been conducted since April, drawing 4,000 people from 25 villages, it added.

"The ministry and FAO have been working together to provide technical and communication skills training to veterinary officials, village animal health workers and village chiefs, so they will be able to educate the public on actions they can take to prevent avian flu infection," said Kao Phal, Director of the Department of Animal Health and Production at the ministry.

Although Cambodia hasn't had any outbreak since April 2007, it does not mean that the risk of AI is not present anymore, said the statement.

"FAO, with support from the United States Agency for International Development and Germany, will continue to strengthen the government's laboratory capacity to detect bird flu, improve bio-security in the backyard farms and in the markets, as well as in disease surveillance and early response to minimize the risks of avian flu," said Etienne Careme, FAO Emergency Program Coordinator.

In addition, both sides will organize a community forum on avian influenza in Pouk District, Siem Reap province, on June 19.

While not located along the border with Vietnam and Thailand, Siem Reap is among the provinces with the largest poultry population and represents an important trade center for poultry, majority of which is sourced from its villages, said the statement.

Siem Reap experienced an AI outbreak in poultry in two villages in February 2004.

In Cambodia, bird flu has killed seven people, including a 12-year-old girl in Kampong Cham province, the latest case of its kind.

CAMBODIA: Taking bird flu lessons to the community

In an effort to raise awareness, the Cambodian government has taken the battle against bird flu to the community level (Photo: FAO)
Adding to the risk factor, market workers in Cambodia fail to use protective gloves when handling poultry (Photo: FAO)

PHNOM PENH, 17 June 2008 (IRIN) - The government is taking the battle against avian influenza in fowl and humans to the villages, especially in rural areas bordering Thailand and Vietnam, where there have been cases recently. With the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it is organising forums, roadshows and workshops to increase awareness among farmers of the potential risks.

"Please don't let anyone else suffer like my daughter: protect yourselves when handling sick chickens, separate them and don't eat chickens that have died," Chhean Chit, father of Cambodia's latest victim of bird flu, told a community forum in Kampong Cham, near his home.

The Chits' 13-year-old daughter died after catching bird flu in April 2007. "My daughter died from contact with an infected chicken - she was not wearing a krama [traditional scarf] and gloves," he told the villagers.

Since April, more than 4,000 people from 25 villages have attended sessions in the provinces bordering Vietnam: Svay Rieng, Takeo, Kampong Cham and Kampot. Village meetings have also been held in some of the border provinces with Thailand.

Seven people, five of them children, have died from bird flu in the past four years, according to the FAO. Cambodia was one of the first countries in the region to experience a serious outbreak of avian influenza, caused by the H5N1 virus. It is now more than a year since the last major outbreak, but concerns persist that farmers, especially in the southern provinces, are still at risk because of the continued confirmed cases of the disease in Vietnam.

"Although there has been no outbreak of avian influenza in Cambodia since last April, the risk of another outbreak is ever-present," Etienne Careme, FAO's emergency programme coordinator in Cambodia, told IRIN. "That is why it's so important to improve the country's capacity to detect outbreaks of the disease – at markets, in large flocks and in backyard farms," he said.

Government ministers and senior provincial officials have understood the need for Cambodia to be more prepared. "Avian influenza is a dangerous disease and if we don't know how to prevent it, it will spread very fast," said Keo Kosal, the deputy governor of Memot District. "The government is very serious about taking action to control the disease."

Awareness drive

But it is clear that government commitment and action alone will not make Cambodia any better prepared without effective community participation, say specialists. "Awareness is the first step to prevention, but only behavioural change can make these plans effective," said Careme.

In countries where much of the poultry production is in the hands of big commercial companies, regulations can be effectively implemented and policed. But in Cambodia most poultry-rearing happens in backyards. The average flock is fewer than 20 birds.

So a new approach was essential, involving farmers and their families. Information and instructions need to be communicated from the national level, filtered down to the villagers and then filtered up again. In these forums and workshops, villagers learn from each other.

"We've had sick or dead chickens before and just ate them," said 10-year-old Han Sereyroath from Leak Pi village. "But now we know we must bury dead chickens and separate the ill ones. Now I will make sure that I wash my hands before I eat and after touching chickens. I'm also going to give this information to my friends."

Contamination risks

"Live bird markets are a potential source of contamination," said FAO communications specialist Anthony Burnett. "Chickens and ducks are mixed together, market workers slaughter birds without wearing masks or gloves. If there were an outbreak of bird flu there is always a risk it could spread through the market and beyond," he warned. "It is important to work with poultry traders and market workers to help them understand these risks."

Apart from care handling the chickens – wearing protective clothing and basic hygiene – there are several simple rules. Domestic poultry should not mix with wild birds, while ducks and chickens should not be allowed to run together, according to Burnett. "Ducks spread the disease. They don't show recognisable symptoms and they don't die – but they do spread it."

Animal specialists at village level monitor flocks and swabs from sick birds are sent for tests at the provincial laboratory. The FAO has already trained many animal health workers; villagers are encouraged to report any sick birds to them rather than kill the birds or sell the meat.

"I talk to people about how to protect their animals, I go round to homes, and I put up posters. This is a good way of helping others to understand the risk of bird flu and how to protect themselves," said Ma Phirun, 31, one of the specialists in Prea Theat. "People in my village have learned from the posters and tell me about sick chickens, which I then report to the village chief and the district vet."

The Cambodian FAO Avian Influenza project will cost more than US$5 million. The German government ($3,506,892) and USAID ($1,900,000) have provided most of the funds.