Saturday, 20 December 2008

Officials Urge Proper Care in Bird Cooking

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
19 December 2008

Health officials on Thursday encouraged the proper preparation of duck and chicken on Thursday, in the face of the culling of hundreds of birds suspected of carrying the H5N1 virus in Kandal province.

“Villagers must be sure themselves whether the meat is well cooked,” said Ly Sovann, deputy director of the communicable diseases control department at the Ministry of Health. “They should wear a mask while they kill the poultry and must clean their hands after the killing.”

Officials continued culling poultry on Thursday, with up to 344 birds kiiled, and continued education efforts in Kampong Speu province, following the discovery of bird flu in a Kandal man in late November.

The victim, Teng Sopheak, remains under treatment in Calmette hospital.

Experts worry that the H5N1 virus, carried in domestic and wild birds, could mutate into something more dangerous for humans. The virus can be spread from bird to human, but not from human to human.

Avian influenza has claimed at least seven Cambodians since 2005.

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