April 16, 2007

Cambodia confirms new bird flu outbreak in backyard poultry

Cambodia on Saturday (Apr 14) confirmed a new outbreak of bird flu among poultry a little more than a week after a 13-year-old girl died from the H5N1 virus.

The government said the fresh outbreak was discovered in backyard poultry in Kampong Cham province, 124 kilometres east of the capital Phnom Penh.

The discovery came after the Cambodian girl died of bird flu last Thursday, the seventh fatality from the H5N1 virus in the country

Authorities have culled about 100 chickens and ducks at the backyard farm in the eastern province.

Cambodia has been praised by the United Nations for its rapid action against bird flu, but health officials warned that the virus could go undetected in the numerous backyard poultry farms in the country.

Cambodia has also tightened border controls to prevent poultry from being smuggled from Thailand and Vietnam, which have reported 17 and 42 bird flu deaths respectively.