Cambodia

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Health of Cambodia, Li Suwan, said to the media that as of the afternoon of the 20th, the number of villagers who died of poisoning in Kratie Province had increased to 5, and the number of hospitalizations reached 78.

　 According to Li Suwan, among the 5 people who died, one was a female villager, and among the 78 people admitted to the hospital, 17 were women. At present, 42 poisoned patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital after treatment.

　 Li Suwan said that the increase in the number of poisoned people was due to national and provincial-level professionals investigating in the village where the incident occurred. It was found that villagers in three other nearby villages were also poisoned and were sent to the hospital for treatment.

　 Li Suwan said that professionals from the Ministry of Health will continue to investigate in nearby villages.

    Li Suwan said that professionals from the Ministry of Health suspected that the poisoning incident was related to the villagers’ consumption of local rice wine, and called on the villagers to stop selling and eating local rice wine, and to seal off illegal breweries. At the same time, it is recommended that villagers buy rice wine from manufacturers approved by the Ministry of Health.

　 On the afternoon of the 18th, a villager in Senbao County of the province suffered abdominal pain, vomiting, and weakness after meals. As a result, 3 people including 1 woman died and more than 40 people were admitted to the hospital for treatment.

　 This is another group of villagers poisoning incident in this province after 13 villagers died of poisoning in May this year. On May 7, the Ministry of Health of Cambodia reported that 13 villagers died of poisoning in Chiborei County, Kratie Province, northeast of the country. Another 234 people were admitted to the hospital. Laboratory results showed that local rice wine and river water contained toxic substances.