SA KAEW – Sa Kaeo has banned the import of poultry after a recent H5N1 avian flu outbreak in Cambodia.
The province’s public health office has confirmed the detection of the avian flu in Cambodia’s Battambang and Siem Reap Provinces and has dispatched a team to monitor the potential spread of the disease.
Sa Kaeo’s local Division of Veterinary Inspection and Quarantine has begun spraying disinfectants on transport vehicles traveling along the Cambodian border and in the province’s Aranyaprathet District. The province’s animal quarantine stations and livestock farms have been instructed to notify the Surveillance and Rapid Response Team should they experience significant numbers of deaths in their livestock.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Dr Sophon Mekton confirmed that no cases of the disease have been detected in Thailand at the present time, while all provincial health and livestock development agencies have been told to monitor farms across the country.
Thailand itself has not seen an outbreak of avian flu in over nine years, however, the Ministry of Public Heath has nevertheless issued Oseltamivir antiviral drugs to all relevant hospitals as a precautionary measure.
The World Health Organization has reported 844 cases of avian flu resulting in 449 deaths in 16 countries between 2003 and November 20, 2015.
