August 21, 2013

Backyard poultry in Cambodia's Battambang province was affected by an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as reported by the Cambodian veterinary authorities.

An immediate notification was sent to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) reporting that the causal agent has been identified as the HPAI virus, serotype H5N1.

The presence of the bird flu virus was confirmed after real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were conducted at the National Veterinary Research Institute (NaVRI) on August 14 and again at the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia (the OIE's regional reference laboratory) on August 15.

A total of 2,000 birds were found susceptible, out of which 1,346 cases and deaths were reported. The remaining 654 birds were destroyed.

According to the OIE, on August 10, after receiving information from the Ministry of Health about a girl aged seven living in Damnak Dangkor village who was reported infected with H5N1, an investigation team of the National Veterinary Research Institute (NaVRI) of the Department of Animal Health and Production (DAHP) and provincial veterinary services went to the village to investigate and take some samples from local chicken. The test results were confirmed positive for H5N1. The source of the outbreak remains inconclusive.