Via France24.com, an AFP report: Cambodia orders action to stop deadly bird flu. Excerpt:
Phnom Penh on Friday ordered urgent action to stem the "worrying" number of bird flu deaths in Cambodia, following a surge in the number of fatalities from the virus.
Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a directive for police, agriculture and health departments to join forces to combat the virus, which has killed eight people since the beginning of the year -- the worst recorded outbreak in a nation that has seen a total of 27 bird flu deaths in a decade.
"Although there have been preventive measures taken by specialist institutions, the spread and the rate of human deaths from bird flu is at a worrying level," the order said.
The latest fatality was a 35-year-old man who died this week after eating infected duck.
Friday's directive ordered a mass disinfection of all poultry farms and markets across the country, as well as efforts to monitor birds' health and to stop illicit cross-border poultry transportation.
Health officials have warned people to wash their hands frequently, to keep children away from poultry and to avoid eating infected birds.We rarely get the follow-up reports I would like to see: interviews with attending physicians and family members, visits to communities, or summaries of reports in local media. Still less do we get follow-up stories on those who survived.
Instead we get "top-down" news: what the government said, what WHO said, and how everyone's supposed to get their kids to stop playing with the chickens. It's discouraging, but it's the standard official response for governments and media alike, whatever the disease or disaster.
