-- AmandaSheelar - 04 Nov 2005

Headline:

Poverty and Superstition Hinder Drive to Block Bird Flu at Source

About:

Bird Flu became a world wide scare when poultry and wild birds became infected. Now the fear will only worsen, because humans are now getting infected as well. So far there have only been four countries that have confirmed human bird flu, and these countries include Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. These are all countries that are not thoroughly civilized and live in close arrangements with their poultry.

Although there are other countries that have humans infected with bird flu, Cambodia is the main point of concern. In the 1970’s mostly all of Cambodia’s doctors were killed in the Khmer Rouge’s killings, and if they were not killed, they fled. So the medical personal that they currently obtain, are highly under qualified. One clinic in a Cambodian city (Phnom Penh) has a director that has not even completed junior high.

Not only is Cambodia uncivilized and improperly staffed, they are also highly superstitious. This was evident when a man murdered a woman with a machete, in order to stop the disease. Many others from the village agreed to pay him, so he could kill what they thought was a witch.

Thoughts:

Reading articles about the bird flu makes me think that a happy ending is nowhere in sight. When you have a possible pandemic with no one helping figure it out, hope seems unattainable. Cambodian people don’t trust the government, and now Cambodian people are not able to rust each other. Farmers are afraid of reporting their losses in fear that the government will assassin their livestock, without reimbursement. And now Cambodian civilians have to be worried about possible witchcraft accusations.

Cambodia has a long way to go. With the disease of bird flu only worsening, and with medical personnel no more qualified than the average Joe, it seems that there is a lot of work to do. The worst is yet to come, because it is now known that bird flu transfers at a faster rate in the winter. Doctors and scientists from around the world are trying to aid them, but the lack of resources just makes another obstacle.
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