Cambodia began culling poultry near its capital today, officials said, five days after a young man from the area was confirmed with H5N1 bird flu by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government.
Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun told reporters today he had ordered a three-month ban on poultry transportation from the province of Kandal, 50km (30 miles) south of Phnom Penh, after tests confirmed it was hit by the deadly virus.
The Health Ministry said in a statement last week the 19-year-old man, the eighth person in Cambodia to have contracted bird flu since its first case in 2005, was in stable condition in the capital's Calmette hospital.
The patient fell ill on November 28th but was only confirmed as having bird flu on December 11th a Health Ministry-WHO statement said.
All seven of Cambodia's previous human cases have died.
Chan Sarun said ministry officials were also investigating in the province of Kampong Speu, 60km west of Kandal, after reports of dead chickens and ducks.
Since H5N1 resurfaced in Asia in 2003 it has killed more than 200 people in a dozen countries, according to the WHO.
Experts fear the constantly mutating H5N1 virus could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and potentially kill millions worldwide.
Hundreds of veterinary workers in eastern India began a cull yesterday as authorities tried to contain the latest outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus to hit the country.
State officials in West Bengal state confirmed the outbreak on Monday after tests on dead birds. Hundreds of thousands of poultry are already being culled in northeastern Assam state and neighbouring Meghalaya.
Health workers and bird flu experts are monitoring about 100 people in Guwahati city in Assam who had shown signs of the virus. There have been no confirmed human cases of H5N1 in India.
Reuters