Hundreds of ducks have been found dead in Banteay Meanchey province since last week and authorities are trying to determine the cause, sending samples to the Agriculture Ministry for testing, officials said yesterday.
Since last week, farmers have found 500 dead waterfowl in Mongkol Borei and Preah Netr Preah districts and the cause may be bacterial infection, said Heng Bun Hor, the provincial agricultural department chief.
“We just made the first assessment. They have sent the sample to the technical department in Phnom Penh already,” he said, adding that his department had spread antibacterial powder throughout the waterways as a precaution.
Sok La, a farmer from Mongkol Borei, estimated that thousands died after becoming flightless and inactive and suffering from diarrhea.
Nima Asgari, a public health specialist with the World Health Organization, said if WHO confirmed the deaths it would request that the Ministry of Health run its own tests to help identify the disease.
(Additional report by Tim Sturrock)
