Cambodia boosts bird flu awareness effort

Phnom Penh - Cambodia will boost its bird flu awareness efforts, officials said on Wednesday amid fears that education campaigns are doing little to change people's behaviour around potentially sick birds.

"While awareness of avian influenza is growing, risky behaviour still remains high among adults and children," said United Nations resident co-ordinator Douglas Gardner in a speech distributed during a ceremony for the new communication initiatives.

"This will be the next big communication challenge. Knowing how the virus is spread must move to the actual behaviour of washing hands and actually keeping children away from sick birds," he added.

Australia's aid agency AusAID on Wednesday committed $1,2-million (about R8,5-million) to Unicef for the new campaign, which hopes to teach people how to keep the H5N1 virus in check.

"It is necessary to ... work more closely at the community level, to induce and reinforce behavioural change," said Unicef's representative Suomi Sakai.

Cambodia has been praised by the United Nations for its rapid action against bird flu, which has helped spare it from the human and poultry deaths suffered by its neighbours.

But health officials also warn that the virus could go undetected in the countless small family farms where most of Cambodia's poultry are raised.

Seven bird flu deaths have been confirmed in Cambodia since 2003, the most recent occurring last month.

"This (fatality) shows that we all must have a strong commitment and pay much more attention. ... The problem remains a threat for us," said Cambodian Health Minister Nuth Sokhom.