Cambodian officials on Sunday confirmed a new bird flu outbreak in Kandal Province, about 12 km south form the capital Phnom Penh, raising the fears of the spread of the deadly virus in Cambodia.

It is the first report of bird flu outbreak in Cambodia. The H5N1 virus was detected by Phnom Penh's Pasteur Institute in dead chickens in a small family chicken farm, Agriculture Ministry official San Vanty told reporters on Sunday.

More than 100 chickens there were already culled and the official from the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) hurriedly went there to take measures, he added.

Officials ordered the people not to eat dead chickens and duck, and the poultry of this area was prohibited to ship out. Meanwhile, disinfectant was sprayed in the area to prevent the spread of the virus.

Cambodia's Ministry of Health and the WHO confirmed on Saturday that a 25-year-old woman from Kampot Province who died of respiratory illness in Vietnam on Jan. 30 was infected with avian influenza, which is the first human case of avian influenza in Cambodia.

(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2005)