Third Bird Flu Death in Kampot Cambodia
Recombinomics Commentary
March 24, 2005
>> The man from Kampot province died at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, late Tuesday after falling ill early this week, said Health Minister Nuth Sokhom.
Megge Miller, an epidemiologist for the U.N. World Health Organization office in Cambodia, said that tests done by the Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh showed he had bird flu.
Nuth Sokhom said that samples from the victim have been sent to a lab in France to determine the exact strain.
The victim, identified as 26-year-old Meas Ran <<
The victim described above is the third reported bird flu death in Kampot, Cambodia. The first two formed a familial cluster. The index case died after collecting dead birds, and his sister developed symptoms shortly after his funeral. Although there had been dead poultry in the village, they were not reported and follow-up tests failed to detect H5N1 in poultry or family members.
However, the latest case is from Tam Sasor, which is just 20 km from the home of the familial cluster. There are reports of dead poultry in the area as well as reports of villagers eating the dead poultry.
These data suggests there are additional unreported cases which are not limited to Kampot province in Cambodia, adjacent Kien Giang province in Vietnam, or Quang Binh in Vietnam's Central Highlands. There are 37 suspect cases who are from the commune in Quang Binh, where dead poultry was eaten.
The likelihood of other outbreaks is high since H5N1 is endemic to the area, and the number of poultry deaths or H5N1 infections in asymptomatic ducks was numerous before Tet. Poultry is commonly served during New Year celebrations last month, yet there has been only one reported case from the Mekong Delta region, where most of Vietnam's poultry is raised.
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