Via The Phnom Penh Post: Two Cambodians die of avian flu. The entire report:
Two Cambodians have died from avian influenza (H5N1) in the past eight days.
The victims were a 15-year-old girl from Smao village, in the Prey Kabass district of Takeo province, and a 35-year-old man from Trapeang Sla village, in Kampong Speu province’s Kong Pisey district, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation said today.
The man was the 24th person in Cambodia to become infected with the H5N1 virus. All but three of the victims have died.
Fifteen of the 24 reported cases were children under the age of 14.
“Avian influenza is still a threat to the health of Cambodians, and children still seem to be the most vulnerable,” Health Minister Mam Bunheng said.
“I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry, discourage them from playing in areas where poultry stay and wash their hands often.
“If they have difficulty breathing, they should be brought to the nearest health facility.”
Ministry of Health rapid-response teams were identifying the latest victims’ close contacts, looking for any epidemiological link between the cases and initiating preventive treatment, Bunheng said.Flublogia is understandably absorbed in this story. FluTrackers have been on it for several hours. Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary has posted on it also. Pandemic Information News has the UN news release, plus a computer-translated report on a human H5N1 case in Iraq.
On Twitter, follow #H5N1 for breaking news. The teenage girl was treated at Kantha Bopha Hospital, but it doesn't seem to have an update yet on its website. Nor does WHO, which posted its latest H5N1 report on January 16.
I've added a link to the Cambodia Ministry of Health to the Hot Zone Sources list.
