Bird Flu Strikes Woman in Kampot province
A worker catches chickens at a market in Phnom Penh on February 24, 2023. Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP
- By Meng Seavmey
- November 24, 2023 6:10 PM
PHNOM PENH – A 21-year-old woman in Kampot province tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu on Nov. 23. The Ministry of Health said the patient showed symptoms four days earlier.
The influenza strain normally affects birds but can spread to humans through close contact.
The patient had trouble breathing, fever and a cough and was transferred to intensive care at the Khmer–Soviet Friendship Hospital. She tested positive for the flu on the same day at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge.
The patient said many chickens had died near her house in Trapeang Russey village in Kampot province a week before she showed symptoms.
The ministry said working groups at national and sub-national levels had been working with experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to research the case and respond with technical and scientific measures to find the source.
Experts are looking out for suspicious cases and people who are infected to prevent its spread in the community and to treat victims with Tamiflu medication.
The ministry says people with symptoms should keep away from crowded areas and see a doctor quickly.
This year, three H5N1 bird flu cases have been found in Cambodia. In February, an 11-year-old girl died in Prey Veng province in the first case in nine years. The second was the girl’s father, who tested positive but showed no symptoms.
In October, the third case was a two-year-old girl, also from Prey Veng province.
Cambodia declared H5N1 a disease in 2005. The last human death was reported in 2014. Of death cases, 45 were children under 14, and 32 were females. Only 19 victims survived.
“To prevent infection, the ministry urges the public to wash their hands often with soap before eating and after touching birds,” the ministry said.
“Children must stay far away from birds, and birds must be far from homes. People must not consume ill or dead birds and chicken must be cooked properly.”
The ministry urged the public to be more cautious of the H5N1 bird flu and the harm it causes.
For up-to-date information, contact the Ministry of Health at 115 or 012 488 981/012 836 868.
