Ms. Youk Sambath, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health, has confirmed that the Ministry of Health’s emergency response team has found 12 more people infected with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) in Prey Veng province.
The news follows the death yesterday of an 11 year old girl from Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) in Roleang village, Romlech commune, Sithor Kandal district, Prey Veng province.
The Secretary of State stated that four of the affected people have begun to show symptoms.
She added that the emergency response team took their samples for analysis at a laboratory in Phnom Penh and the results will be released tomorrow.
Ms. Youk Sambath also said that the Ministry of Health’s emergency response team will continue to search for those affected by bird flu in schools tomorrow.
With the discovery of the infected people , Ms. Youk Sambath called on the villagers to increase vigilance, health care and follow the instructions of professional officials.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species.
A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1, is the highly pathogenic causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as avian influenza (“bird flu”).
It is enzootic (maintained in the population) in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asia.