Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Mondulkiri deaths blamed on flu strain

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Mondulkiri deaths blamed on flu strain

    Mondulkiri deaths blamed on flu strain
    Wednesday, 24 March 2010 15:03 Chhay Channyda .

    THREE ethnic Phnong villagers in Mondulkiri province have succumbed to what health officials believe is a strain of flu, though village residents claim the anger of ancestral spirits is to blame.

    Lek Sovannarath, chief of the communicable diseases control bureau at the provincial health department, said two children and one man who was ?around 50 years old? died on Saturday, and that five others had since been sent to hospital after experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, headache, vomiting and diarrhoea.

    He said provincial health officials would run tests on the five who had been hospitalised, but he emphasised that the illness was likely a standard strain of flu that was easily treatable.

    However, Phon Bun Sok, 24, a resident of Porpet village in Pich Chreada district, where the deaths occurred, said village elders believed they had been caused by spirits that had been angered when a woman who had recently given birth went out to take a bath.

    ?It is a belief. A woman who has just delivered a baby must abstain from going out to take a bath. She must bathe at home and stay at home for up to three months,? he said. ?If we break this rule, the spirits will break us or make us have stomachaches or get another illness.?

    Regardless of the cause of the deaths, Lek Sovannarath said he was confident the situation in the village was improving.
    Twitter: @RonanKelly13
    The views expressed are mine alone and do not represent the views of my employer or any other person or organization.

  • #2
    Re: Mondulkiri deaths blamed on flu strain

    This is a ProMED MBDS post, and is a bit scary.



    Archive Number 20100324.0942
    Published Date 24-MAR-2010
    Subject PRO/MBDS> Influenza-like illness, fatal - Cambodia: Mondulkiri, RFI

    INFLUENZA-LIKE ILLNESS, FATAL - CAMBODIA: MONDULKIRI, REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
    ************************************************** ***************************
    A ProMED-mail post
    <http://www.promedmail.org>
    ProMED-mail is a program of the
    International Society for Infectious Diseases
    <http://www.isid.org>

    Date: Wed 24 Mar 2010
    Source: The Phnom Penh Post [edited]
    <http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010032434173/National-news/mondulkiri-deaths-blamed-on-flu-strain.html>


    A total of 3 ethnic Phnong villagers in Mondulkiri province have
    succumbed to what health officials believe is a strain of flu, though
    village residents claim the anger of ancestral spirits is to blame.

    Lek Sovannarath, chief of the communicable diseases control bureau at
    the provincial health department, said 2 children and one man who was
    "around 50 years old" died on Saturday [20 Mar 2010], and that 5
    others had since been sent to hospital after experiencing symptoms
    such as fever, cough, headache, vomiting and diarrhea.

    He said provincial health officials would run tests on the 5 who had
    been hospitalised, but he emphasised that the illness was likely a
    standard strain of flu that was easily treatable.

    However, [A 24-year-old resident] of Porpet village in Pich Chreada
    district, where the deaths occurred, said village elders believed
    they had been caused by spirits that had been angered when a woman
    who had recently given birth went out to take a bath.

    "It is a belief. A woman who has just delivered a baby must abstain
    from going out to take a bath. She must bathe at home and stay at
    home for up to 3 months," he said. "If we break this rule, the
    spirits will break us or make us have stomachaches or get another illness."

    Regardless of the cause of the deaths, Lek Sovannarath said he was
    confident the situation in the village was improving.

    --
    Communicated by:
    PRO/MBDS
    <promed-mbds@promedmail.org>

    [According to the above newswire, 8 ethnic Phnong villagers in
    Mondulkiri province, Cambodia, experienced the symptoms of fever,
    cough, headache, vomiting and diarrhea; 3 of them died and 5 others
    had been hospitalized. The symptoms of cases according to the
    newswire were nonspecific. At present, the health officials suspected
    the illness from a standard strain of flu.


    PRO/MBDS would greatly appreciate more information on the
    investigation and laboratory testing results of this outbreak from
    knowledgeable sources.

    For a map of Cambodia with provinces, see
    <http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/cambodia.pdf>. For
    the interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map with links to other recent
    PRO/MBDS and ProMED-mail postings in Cambodia and neighboring
    countries, see <http://healthmap.org/r/01bi>. - Mod.SCM]
    ....................scm/ejp/yma

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Mondulkiri deaths blamed on flu strain

      I believe this is the same outbreak as (but all the posts are the result of the same article):



      Either way, there are some inconsistancies in the article (did all three deaths really happen the same day), and the symptoms are very vague (and there may be "too many" of them - this could easily be more than one illness), so it is difficult to tell what really happened.

      Comment

      Working...
      X