Influenza

A 27-year-old man from Prey Veng province’s Kampong Leav district died late last week after contracting the A(H5N1) virus, known as bird flu, officials said Wednesday. According to a press release issued by the Health Ministry and World Health Organisation, the man died on April 17 as a result of ‘‘respiratory complications’’ four days after he became ‘‘sick at home with high fever’’. His was the 10th confirmed human case of bird flu since the virus was first detected in Cambodia in 2004, and the eighth confirmed death. “Avian Influenza H5N1 is still a threat to the health of Cambodians,” Minister of Health Mam Bunheng said in Wednesday’s statement. “I urge communities to be on the lookout for sick poultry and report poultry die-offs to the Ministry of Health or Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries hotlines, so that they can be investigated before people start to get sick.” Officials said in February that thousands of ducks and chickens in Takeo province had died from the disease, though no human cases were reported. Since 2003, there have been 494 confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans worldwide, with 293 deaths.