Cambodia bans poultry from Kandal province after human infection

Cambodian officials have banned all poultry from Kandal province outside the capital Phnom Penh, to try to contain an outbreak of birdflu which has infected a 19-year-old man.

Agriculture ministry workers have destroyed 326 birds in the past week, and say any poultry found within three kilometres of Kandal province must be culled.

The 19-year-old is recovering in hospital, after it was confirmed he contracted the lethal H5N1 form of the bird flu virus in Kandal.

"Our experts have carefully taken control of the area and looked into the issues very closely," said ministry spokesman Kao Phal.

He says a government ban on selling or transporting poultry in the area will be in force for the next 30 days.

"We are educating the residents to love their lives rather than keep going on with their dangerous businesses," he said.

Officials say residents have been cooperating with the ban, and staff from the agriculture and health ministries are continuing to monitor the outbreak.

"We will continue to search for suspected cases for the next 10 days around the area," health ministry spokesman Ly Sovann said.

The teenage patient is the first person to be infected by bird flu in Cambodia this year.

Prior to 2008, seven Cambodians have been infected with the virus since it emerged in Asia in 2003.

While all previous patients have died, health officials say the man is expected to survive.