Cambodia has not seen any case of H7N9 bird flu virus and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ( MERS) coronavirus, a senior health official said Monday.
Speaking at a seminar on the awareness of H7N9 and MERS coronavirus, Dr. Ly Sovann, director of the health ministry's communicable disease control department, said H7N9 is a second bird virus alongside H5N1 to have emerged in recent years.
He added H5N1 is more dangerous for humans than H7N9, but its spread through birds is more easily detectable, as poultry usually show signs of illness.
"For H7N9 virus, the sick birds may show no sign of illness," he said.
For MERS coronavirus, Dr. Ly Sovann said MERS is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause diseases ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
"The virus can transmit from an infected person to another in close contact," he said, adding the disease had been identified in 19 countries around the world including Malaysia and the Philippines.
As of May, he said 635 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS coronavirus have officially been reported globally, including 193 deaths. No vaccine or specific treatment is currently available.
He said to prevent from the infection of MERS coronavirus, people should avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections and adhere to hygiene rules.
"To date, the two viruses have not been found in Cambodia," Dr. Ly Sovann said.