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Increase of swine flu in rainy season

admin — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 07:37:35 +0000

The Communicable Diseases Control Department of the Health Ministry released figures last month, around 100 new cases diagnosed was found swine flu. The figures show that there are a total of 693 people contracted the virus by Jul 29, increasing up from 591 identified cases as of June 24.

“The rate of infection had been slow in the first five months of the year, and had begun increasing significantly in Ju,” Ly Sovann, deputy director of the department, was quoted by the Post as saying.

He added that “in Cambodia, the flu season starts when the rainy seasons starts, so usually from May or June, you see an increasing number of people with flu. You’re going to get more people with flu anyway.”

A(H1N1) influenza virus has first detected in the Cambodia in June 2009, and contacted six fatalities, causing 18-month-old boy died in December.

Bird flu suspected 700 poultry to be culled

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:40:03 +0000

More than 700 ducks and chickens suspected of carrying avian influenza are expected to be killed by Prey Veng provincial authorities. Since 2003, more than 290 people were killed by bird flu. And recently, a 27-old man was died from infection of this disease.

Chhyn Dy, head of the district’s animal health office, said that health and veterinary officials traveled from house to house in the districts this week, killing the birds, which are raised family by family. So far, official have culled more than 1,500 birds, reported by VOA Khmer.

He added that a remaining 400 chickens and 300 ducks will be culled.

Tep Samoeun, head of the provincial hospital’s infectious disease department, was quoted by the VOA Khmer as saying that “If someone living in a place where ducks or chickens are raised in farms is suspected of having the H5N1 virus, we can provide Tamilflu tablets.”

A Healthy Diet Means Fish and Fruit: Doctor

admin — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 11:57:59 +0000

A healthy diet that includes fish, fruit and vegetables can reduce the chances for heart disease, a US doctor said Thursday.

That nutritional balance was once common in Cambodian food, but that is changing, Taing Tek Hong, a Florida-based physician, told “Hello VOA.”

To understand heart disease, it is important to understand the heart, which itself looks like a papaya, the doctor said Thursday.

“There is a hole inside the heart and there are four rooms in the hole,” he said. “Two rooms are in the upper level, and another two are in the bottom level. The heart pumps blood to feed brain and body.”

The most significant symptom of heart disease is a pain in the chest when a person is exerting himself, but sometimes there are no symptoms, the doctor said.

“Heart disease is caused by plaque, fatty materials, building up on the inner walls of the coronary arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart,” he said. “The plaque ruins the heart muscle, which weakens the heart muscle to pump blood and causes heart failure. If the blood vessels are clogged, blood cannot flow as much as is needed to heart, which makes the heart beat irregularly, and causes us to feel dizzy and tired and sometimes leads to a heart attack.”

Asked whether smoking can cause heart disease, Taing Tek Hong said, “terribly.”

“Smoking makes blood vessels narrow and reduces oxygen in blood,” he said. “Therefore, smoking is one of the causes of heart disease.”

“There’s medicine to cure heart failure,” he said. “You should go to see the doctor. A general practitioner should be able to help, but if it doesn’t work, visit a heart specialist.”

Heart disease can be prevented by a good diet, including avoiding animal fat, like butter or pork fat, he said.

“Vegetables and fruit, you must eat these five times per day,” he said. “Fish is the best source of protein, and fish fat is good. You need to exercise at least 30 minutes each session, at least four days per week.”

Cambodia is facing more heart disease than ever before, the doctor said, because food has become too rich.

“During the 1970s when I was a medical student working in a hospital, there were no heart disease patients,” he said. “Once in a while rich people or high-ranking officials had heart disease, because they had food with a lot of fat.”

“Now people use a lot of meat with fat and butter, which causes more heart disease,” he said. “Khmer food is good because we use fish, like prahok, and a lot of vegetables.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Mental Health Crisis Strains Cambodia

admin — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:40:38 +0000

Despite a growing economy and rapid development, Cambodia suffers from high rates of mental illness, and very little treatment. Aubrey Belford recently visited the Cambodian community of Kampot and reports on one of Asia’s worst mental health crises.

Cambodia is a country with a more traumatic past than most. Recent decades have seen civil war, followed by genocide and more civil war.

Now, the country is at peace and the economy is booming. But mental health workers say the psychological scars have yet to heal.

Psychiatrist Sotheara Chhim, who heads the Cambodia office of Dutch aid group, the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization, or TPO, says the country’s dark past bubbles up in an exceptionally high rate of mental illness.

“In my opinion I think the past plays a very important role in attributing to the problem. I think every Cambodian is like a glass carrying some water, meaning the traumatic past. If more water is put in, the glass fills easier than an empty glass.”

A study by TPO found 35 percent of Cambodians suffer from some kind of psychiatric problem, from mild disturbance to full-blown illness.

The legacy of past conflict means more than a quarter of the population shows signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, and over 10 percent suffer major depression, even though most of the population is too young to remember the darkest years.

But there is little treatment. Only one percent of the government’s health budget goes to mental health. For a population of 14 million people, there are about 40 psychiatrists, and only around 10 of them outside the capital Phnom Penh.

At the mental health ward at a hospital in the southern town of Kampot, Dr. Kim Vutha complains of a shortage of funds and medications.

He says Cambodians, particularly in rural areas, usually seek out mainstream treatment as a last resort after trying temples and traditional healers. In villages, it is quite common to find the seriously ill chained to posts or kept in makeshift cages.

Satya Pholy, a counselor in Phnom Penh, says that despite the prevalence of mental illness, many Cambodians simply do not want to acknowledge the problem.

“There’s a stigma in Cambodian society. If someone talks to a counselor or goes to a psychologist or psychiatrist, ‘Oh he’s crazy, what’s wrong with him?’.”

He says traditional culture often plays a role in how mental illness is address.

“It goes back to animism and Buddhism and Hinduism, where most illnesses come from the unbalance of the wind, the soil, the fire and the water. Also, if you offended the spirits of the mountains or of the trees, you know, then the spirit will try to get you back, have revenge, make you sick.”

Foreign aid organizations can not fill the gap. Sotheara Chhim says the economic crisis has meant less money for his organization, which travels around the country doing mental health outreach.

“I think mental health gets less attention, left behind in Cambodia. Ministry of Health used to say keep saying mental health is one of the priorities but I don’t think it’s a priority.”

Sotheara says donor cuts forced him to fire 50 employees late last year.

Among the small government efforts to deal with the crisis, 10 new psychiatrists are being trained every year. But people working in the field, such as Sotheara, say this is still not enough.

Source: VOA Khmer

Cholera Suspected in Six Kratie Deaths

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 02:01:29 +0000

At least six villagers have died and dozens fallen ill from severe diarrhea and vomiting in a suspected cholera outbreak in Kratie province, authorities said Friday.

The outbreak occurred in two villages of Chet Borey district, a remote area far from the provincial capital, said Choung Seang Hak, chief of Kratie provincial police.

At least 53 people were being treated at the provincial hospital while “several dozen” others were being treated in their villages, Sanday, Treap and Village 105, in Thmei commune, he said.

Ou Pilay, chief of the provincial hospital, said six people died from serious diarrhea and vomiting suspected from cholera, causing worries of an epidemic.

“The patients have the conditions of chest pressure, difficulty breathing, and have indigestion” caused by dirty drinking water, he said. A lack of hygiene and high temperatures also contributed, he said.

Villagers were treated with anti-bacterial medication, and the conditions of some have improved, he said.

Around 20 medical officers and several dozen civil servants, police and military police are staying in the villages to investigate the cause of the outbreak, the officials said. Six ambulances were also on standby in the villages.

Authorities are searching the homes of villagers for signs of the disease and have urged anyone sick to seek out the medical teams.

Choung Seang Hak said the “cholera epidemic” was now under control and no further deaths were reported.

Source: VOA Khmer

Stroke Can Be Irreversible: Doctor

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:51:29 +0000

A stroke occurs when blood flow to brain is blocked, either by blood clots or narrowed blood vessels, or when there is bleeding in the brain, a US doctor said Monday.

“As a result, as stroke can cause problems with talking and walking,” Taing Tek Hong, a Florida-based doctor said, as a guest on “Hello VOA.” “In many cases, the effects of stroke are irreversible.”

“Chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes can increase your risk, as well as lifestyle such as being overweight, smoking cigarettes, or drinking excessively,” he said.

Coronary artery disease is another health problem to watch for, he said.

The disease occurs when a fatty material called plaque builds up on the inner walls of the coronary arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart, he said.

“Angina is chest pain or discomfort that occurs when an area of your heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen-rich blood,” he said. “Angina may feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. The pain also may occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw or back. It can feel like indigestion.”

“Plaque causes the coronary arteries to become narrow and stiff,” Taing Tek Hong said. “The flow of blood to the heart muscle is reduced. This causes pain and can lead to a heart attack.

A heart attack occurs when blood-flow to an area of the heart muscle is completely blocked. This prevents oxygen-rich blood from reaching that area of the heart muscle and causes it to die. Without quick treatment, a heart attack can lead to serious problems and even death.”

Taing Tek Hong’s discussion prompted other heart-related questions from listeners.

One caller asked what can be done for a slow heartbeat.

“Some hearts don’t beat regularly,” the doctor said. “A pacemaker can correct the problem.

A pacemaker is a small device that sends electrical impulses to the heart muscle to maintain a suitable heart rate and rhythm. Talk to your doctor about it.”

Another listener said he was pale as a boy and sometimes his body turned purple. “Right now I have permanent chest pain,” he said.

“It could be the hole in the heart,” Taing Tek Hong said. “A hole in the heart allows blood to flow from one atrium to the other, usually from the left side to the right side. This causes extra blood to flow in the right atrium, in the right ventricle, and to the lungs. You need to talk with your doctor. Your doctor will give you an EKG test. The EKG test measures the rate and regularity of your heartbeat.”

Source: VOA Khmer

Malaria cases up 30,000 in 2009

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:43:21 +0000

There were over 80,000 malaria cases resulting in 300 deaths in the Cambodia last year, compared with 50,000 cases and 200 deaths in 2008, the Phnom Penh Post quoted Dr. Duong Socheat, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control (CNM) as saying.

The increase in the malaria cases was caused by the increased rainfall as well by the fact that more people had been exposed to malaria-carrying mosquitoes as a growing number of soldiers and construction workers were deployed to high-risk forested areas in Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Stung Treng, Kratie, Kampong Cham, and Koh Kong provinces, he added.

The CNM had been successful in decreasing the spread of malaria by about 60 or 70 percent in the eight years from 2000 to 2008, and he was optimistic about the success of a national campaign aimed at completely eliminating malaria deaths by 2020, said Dr. Duong Socheat.

Found 10,000 ducks dead in Takeo

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:09:04 +0000

Agricultural authorities from Ministry of Agriculture were testing samples of 10,000 dead ducks raised in Koh Adeth district in Takeo province near the Vietnam border but they suspected that those ducks died from avian influenza.

Even though, authorities have yet to identify the cause of death. All ducks were sprayed with a chemical to kill viruses and then burned in a hole.

Kao Phal, director of the ministry’s veterinary department said that “we forbid villages from cooking dead or sick ducks for food, from touching directly dead or sick ducks, and from selling dead or sick ducks, in order to avoid a contagious disease,” according to VOA Khmer.

Since 2005, seven Cambodians have been killed by avian influenza. In 2008, a Kandal province man survived the disease.

Kao Phal encouraged villagers to wear masks, gloves and socks when handling poultry or fowl, as authorities work to prevent the spread of the disease.

Coronary artery disease to affect cambodia

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:23:28 +0000

Coronary artery disease results from a narrowing of the blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Western societies and has cause one out of every five deaths in the US since 2002.

Coronary artery disease is caused by build-up of fatty materiel called plaque on the wall of the arteries, he said. This causes them to get narrow, leading to the slowdown or stopping of blood flow to the heart muscle. This can cause chest pain or a heart.

Dr. Taing Tek Hong, a physician in Florida was quoted by the VOA Khmer as saying that “the most common causes of [coronary artery disease] are chest discomfort or pain, uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of the chest that can be mild or strong.”

“This discomfort or pain lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back,” added he.

Illegal pharmacies to be closed

admin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:00:00 +0000

The Phnom Penh Post reported that nine illegal pharmacies will be faced with a closure because of refusal to stop selling fake medicines across the country. And 100 other unlicensed shops in Phnom Penh will be shut down.

Three-day seminar, funded by French embassy, between five Asian countries – Cambodia, China, Laos, Singapore, and Vietnam – was to discuss regional fight against counterfeit drugs, WHO said that counterfeit drugs in Cambodia have declined from between 10 and 13 percent three years ago to 8 percent in 2009 because of international cooperation Cambodia has, reported VOA.

Health experts said that the crackdown highlights what industry officials have described as long-running problem with counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the Kingdom, including black-market abortion pills, according to the Post.

The Post quoted Sok Sokun, director of the municipal health department, as saying that “we told them many times already to get a license and not to sell counterfeit drugs, but they did not listen to us.”

It is because of the poverty and poor people, illegal medicines subsequently have been imported to Cambodia’s market.

William Mfuko, WHO medical advisor, said that counterfeit medicine could be produced with lack of ingredients, which can cause resistance and death, according to VOA.

According to the city’s counterfeit drugs committee, only half of the country’s estimated 2,000 pharamacies have been registered, officials said in September. In Phnom Penh, the ratio is slightly better: 155 of 527 pharmacies in the capital are unlicensed, reported the Post.

Khmer News: Cambodia news | Cambodian economy | Banking sector | Agricutlure | Technology | Education » Health

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