Cambodia confirms bird flu infection

cctv.com 01-25-2004 09:16

Cambodia has now confirmed an outbreak among poultry at a farm on the outskirts of the country's capital, Phnom Penh. The outbreak was confirmed through tests of dead chickens conducted by a laboratory in Paris. An Agriculture Ministry official says the disease has so far only been found in one place.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government has decided to supply about 180,000 US dollars worth of medicine to Vietnam to help the country fight against avian influenza.

The Cambodian official says the origin of the outbreak is still under investigation. The ministry is confident it has contained any further spread by sending technical staff across the country. The World Health Organization says there are no suspected human cases of bird flu in Cambodia.

WHO official Sean Tobin said, "Now the challenge for the government and its international partners is to effectively control the outbreak and to reduce the risk of the impact on the poultry industry and also to reduce the risk of a new emerging strain, more dangerous strain, coming out of Asia as well."

In neighboring Thailand, the government has confirmed two human cases of the disease. A Thai man suspected of having the disease died on Friday.

The WHO has no plans to issue a travel ban on countries hit by the bird flu outbreak in East Asia. A senior WHO official says there is no need at present for the kind of travel warnings the WHO issued during last year's SARS epidemic.

Editor:Zhang  Source:CCTV.com