January 26, 2004

Bird Flu Hits Cambodia

Chickens in Cambodia have been found to have bird flu, a spokesman for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday.

According to the FAO, six Asian nations have now had outbreaks of avian influenza - Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. The cases in neighboring Thailand were also confirmed Friday.

The FAO received news Friday that tests carried out by a laboratory in France at the request of the Cambodian government confirmed that samples of dead poultry contained bird flu, said the spokesman for the FAO regional office in Bangkok, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.

He said Cambodia's government has asked the FAO for technical details on how they should carry out programs to contain the disease.

No cases of bird flu have been reported among humans in Cambodia.

Cambodian government officials had no immediate comment.