Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday ordered government officials to closely monitor the spread of the avian influenza A(H5N1) virus, more commonly known as bird flu, which claimed the life of a Prey Veng man last week. In a speech in Siem Reap province, the premier directed health officials to “be careful with this issue and continue to follow it for the safety of the people”. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation reported that a 27-year old man from Prey Veng province infected with H5N1 died last week of respiratory complications. As of Tuesday, there had been 10 laboratory-confirmed cases in Cambodia of H5N1 in humans since the virus was first detected in the Kingdom in 2004, with eight fatalities.