Almost 2,000 Thai chickens confiscated in Cambodia

Almost 2,000 Thai chickens confiscated in Cambodia

Almost 2,000 chickens from Thailand have been confiscated by Cambodian authorities in Pursat province after they were found to have been illegally brought into Cambodia.

Lay Viseth, the province’s agriculture department director, said on Sunday that authorities stopped a truck on Road 4 in the province after receiving a tip-off that the truck would be transporting chickens without having the appropriate health and safety authorisations, the Khmer Times reported on Monday.

“We already have the prosecutors working on this case. The dead animals will be destroyed but as for the animals which are still alive, we took them to the laboratory to check if they contained any disease which can be transmitted to humans,” Viseth said, adding that the truck driver managed to flee the scene when police stopped the truck.

Pursat has borders with Trat province.

Meanwhile, Healthy Ministry spokesperson Ly Sovann appealed to Cambodians on Facebook to be cautious when purchasing poultry, especially in the face of the upcoming Lunar New Year at the end of the month.

He warned the public to be careful of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, especially when cooking or selling chickens and ducks.

“All citizens, please be careful always about the spread of the bird flu. Please do not cook or sell sick or dead birds,” he said.

Earlier this month, the ministry warned Cambodians of the bird flu after it said that South Korea and Japan recently had to cull 20 million poultry in an effort to contain the spread of the H5N6 avian influenza epidemic, citing the World Health Organization.

It added that China also reported 807 human infections of the H7N9 influenza strain from 2013 to 2016.

In Cambodia, however, Sovann said in his Facebook post that 56 cases of bird flu have been reported since 2005, resulting in 37 deaths.

Those experiencing flu-like symptoms, including fever, a cough, a sore throat and muscle aches after coming into contact with sick or dead birds are advised to seek medical treatment immediately.

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