Cambodia's health ministry has confirmed that a woman who died last week was a victim of bird flu. At the same time, presence of the disease has been reported in a village five kilometres away from the capital Phnom Penh, the country's first confirmed outbreak since September 2004.
"We recognise that the woman died of bird flu, and we also recognise that it is the first case to happen in Cambodia," said the head of the health ministry's infectious disease department Ly Sovann. The 25-year-old woman lived in the southern Cambodian province of Kampot, which borders Vietnam, and died in Vietnam on January 30 whilst she was seeking treatment.
Officials now fear the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus strain, as the country has no health system. They have ordered an immediate cull of at least 150 chickens and ducks, while the area is being disinfected.
