Blood Suckers: Villagers in R?kiri fear deadly spirits - 4 fatalities

[Ronan Kelly]

Blood Suckers: Villagers in R?kiri fear deadly spirits
Tuesday, 08 June 2010 15:01 Tep Nimol .
Blood Suckers

Residents of Ratanakkiri province?s Korng Nork village fear that vampire-like spirits are responsible for the recent deaths of two men, a local official said Monday. Tan Suong, the deputy chief of Voeun Sai district?s Kok Lak commune, which borders Korng Nork village, said the men were found dead on their farms last month with wounds on their necks that looked like bite marks. ?Villagers are now very scared because they believe that the deaths were caused by spirits who got angry with the men and sucked their blood,? Tan Suong said. Local residents, he added, had made offerings of meat and rice spirit in the hope of pacifying the angry spirits. Huoy Vannara, head of the communicable diseases office at the Ratanakkiri provincial health department, said the men died of natural causes. ?I have already sent officials to educate the villagers and explain that the men were not killed by vampires,? he said.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010060839571/National-news/blood-suckers-villagers-in-rkiri-fear-deadly-spirits.html

[alert]

Re: Blood Suckers: Villagers in R?kiri fear deadly spirits

It is not even clear at this point that this is the result of disease, and not injury, accident, or homicide.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=2400:1001:5782856306532172::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1040,83128

Archive Number 20100608.1913
Published Date 08-JUN-2010
Subject PRO/MBDS> Undiagnosed fatalities - Cambodia: Ratanakkiri, RFI

UNDIAGNOSED FATALITIES - CAMBODIA: RATANAKKIRI, 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: Tue 8 Jun 2010
Source: The Phnom Penh Post [edited]
<http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010060839571/National-news/blood-suckers-villagers-in-rkiri-fear-deadly-spirits.html>


Residents of Ratanakkiri province's Korng Nork village fear that
vampire-like spirits are responsible for the recent deaths of 2 men,
a local official said Monday [7 Jun 2010]. Tan Suong, the deputy
chief of Voeun Sai district's Kok Lak commune, which borders Korng
Nork village, said the men were found dead on their farms last month
[May 2010] with wounds on their necks that looked like bite marks.

"Villagers are now very scared because they believe that the deaths
were caused by spirits who got angry with the men and sucked their
blood," Tan Suong said. Local residents, he added, had made offerings
of meat and rice spirit in the hope of pacifying the angry spirits.
Huoy Vannara, head of the communicable diseases office at the
Ratanakkiri provincial health department, said the men died of
natural causes. "I have already sent officials to educate the
villagers and explain that the men were not killed by vampires," he said.

[Byline: Tep Nimol]

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

[According to the newswire above, 2 men in Korng Nork village,
Ratanakkiri province, Cambodia died in May 2010. The men were found
dead on their farms with wounds on their necks that looked like bite
marks. The cause of these deaths remains unclear.

PRO/MBDS would highly appreciate further information from reliable
sources regarding the etiology of the 2 deaths described above.

For a map of Cambodia with provinces, see
<http://www.discoveryindochina.com/cam/map_provinces.html>. For the
interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map with links to other recent
PRO/MBDS and ProMED-mail postings on Cambodia and neighboring
countries, see <http://healthmap.org/r/01uh>. - Mod.SCM]

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Blood Suckers: Villagers in R?kiri fear deadly spirits

Ratanakkiri ?vampire? deaths dismissed by health officials
Tuesday, 29 June 2010 15:02 Mom Kunthear .

FOUR ethnic minority men who died in Ratanakkiri province?s Voeun Sai district over the past month were not killed by vampires or spirits,
despite reports to the contrary from local villagers, provincial health officials who visited the area over the weekend said Monday.
Rather, they were likely the victims of heart attacks and poisonings, the officials said.

Tha Bunthak, deputy director of the provincial health department, said five health officials visited Voeun Sai district on Sunday to investigate the deaths, and that doctors and health officials from across the province had attended a meeting on Monday to discuss the cases.

?After we spent a whole morning together, we can evaluate that they died because of poisoning and heart attack,? he said. ?It is not because of a vampire or spirit as those villagers thought.?

District police chief Toeun Nou Thorng said Monday that two of the men had died in Korng Nork village, and the other two had died in Kok Lak village. He added that the four deaths took place between May 25 and June 24, and that marks on the necks of all four victims had led villagers to believe that they had been attacked by vampires.

Tha Bunthak said investigating health officials had settled on a more prosaic explanation for the neck wounds.

?Before they stopped breathing they felt difficulties, and they always pinch or scratch on their body,? he said.

He added that health officials suspected that some of the victims had been accidentally poisoned by food, water or alcohol, but said that the cause of death had not been formally determined for any of the four men.

Toeun Nou Thorng said it was common for ethnic minority villagers in the district to pray rather than seek medical help for illnesses. He said police officials had visited residents of both villages to encourage them ?not to be afraid? of receiving medical help.

Tha Bunthak said health officials visiting the district on Sunday had also taken the opportunity to urge locals to seek medical help in case of illness.

?I explained and educated them not to believe in the spirit more than technology, and I urged them to go to health centres or hospitals when they are sick,? he said. ?It is very difficult to change their belief or habit, but we try our best to help them and change them step by step.?

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010062940141/National-news/ratanakkiri-vampire-deaths-dismissed-by-health-officials.html

[alert]

Re: Blood Suckers: Villagers in R?kiri fear deadly spirits - 4 fatalities

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/apex/f?p=2400:1001:3431302289693774::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1040,83460

Archive Number 20100630.2187
Published Date 30-JUN-2010
Subject PRO/MBDS> Undiagnosed fatalities - Cambodia (02): Ratanakkiri, RFI

UNDIAGNOSED FATALITIES - CAMBODIA (02): RATANAKKIRI, 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: Tue 29 Jun 2010
Source: The Phnom Penh Post [edited]
<http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010062940141/National-news/ratanakkiri-vampire-deaths-dismissed-by-health-officials.html>


All 4 ethnic minority men who died in Ratanakkiri province's Voeun
Sai district over the past month were not killed by vampires or
spirits, despite reports to the contrary from local villagers,
provincial health officials who visited the area over the weekend
said Monday [28 Jun 2010]. Rather, they were likely the victims of
heart attacks and poisonings, the officials said.

Tha Bunthak, deputy director of the provincial health department,
said 5 health officials visited Voeun Sai district on Sunday [27 Jun
2010] to investigate the deaths, and that doctors and health
officials from across the province had attended a meeting on Monday
[28 Jun 2010] to discuss the cases.

"After we spent a whole morning together, we can evaluate that they
died because of poisoning and heart attack," he said. "It is not
because of a vampire or spirit as those villagers thought."

District police chief Toeun Nou Thorng said Monday [28 Jun 2010] that
2 of the men had died in Korng Nork village, and the other 2 had died
in Kok Lak village. He added that the 4 deaths took place between 25
May and 24 Jun [2010], and that marks on the necks of all 4 victims
had led villagers to believe that they had been attacked by vampires.

Tha Bunthak said investigating health officials had settled on a more
prosaic explanation for the neck wounds. "Before they stopped
breathing they felt difficulties, and they always pinch or scratch on
their body," he said.

He added that health officials suspected that some of the victims had
been accidentally poisoned by food, water, or alcohol, but said that
the cause of death had not been formally determined for any of the 4 men.

Toeun Nou Thorng said it was common for ethnic minority villagers in
the district to pray rather than seek medical help for illnesses. He
said police officials had visited residents of both villages [Korng
Nork and Kok Lak] to encourage them "not to be afraid" of receiving
medical help.

Tha Bunthak said health officials visiting the district on Sunday [27
Jun 2010] had also taken the opportunity to urge locals to seek
medical help in case of illness.

"I explained and educated them not to believe in the spirit more than
technology, and I urged them to go to health centers or hospitals
when they are sick," he said. "It is very difficult to change their
belief or habit, but we try our best to help them and change them
step by step."

[Byline: Mom Kunthear]

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

[In early June 2010, there was a report of undiagnosed fatalities of
2 men in Korng Nork village, Ratanakkiri province, Cambodia whom were
found dead on their farms in May 2010 (see prior PRO/MBDS posting
Undiagnosed fatalities - Cambodia: Ratanakkiri, RFI 20100608.1913).

According to the newswire above, 2 more fatalities were reported from
Kok Lak village, for a total of 4 fatalities in Voeun Sai district,
Ratanakkiri province between 25 May 2010 and 24 Jun 2010. All victims
had marks on their necks. Authorities stated that heart attacks and
poisonings were likely to be the causes of the deaths.

More information from reliable source on etiology of 4 deaths in
Korng Nork village, Ratanakkiri province, Cambodia would be highly
appreciated by PRO/MBDS.

For a map of Cambodia with provinces, see
<http://www.discoveryindochina.com/cam/map_provinces.html>. For the
interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map with links to other recent
PRO/MBDS and ProMED-mail postings on Cambodia and neighboring
countries, see <http://healthmap.org/r/01uh>. - Mods.SCM/YMA]