Cambodia has no bird flu so far, and more than 1,500 ducks died in recent days were killed by bird cholera, not bird flu, official said on Sunday.

Yim Voeun Than, secretary of state of Agriculture Ministry, confirmed there were more than 1,500 ducks in Kampong Speu province died within a week.

"But our initial tests show that those ducks were killed by cholera of birds, not the lethal virus of bird flu, and it would not infect and dispread among the human," he said.

Yim Voeun Than said the concerned authorities of his ministry have already taken some measures to combat the spread of disease, including disinfection and preventing the trafficking and sale of the birds.

Moreover, samples taken from the ducks were sent to Pasteur Institute in Phnom Penh for further testing, he said.

Bird flu, which ravaged poultry farms across Asia since late 2003, has jumped to humans, killing 74, comparing 42 in Vietnam, 14 in Thailand, 11 in Indonesia, three in China and four in Cambodia.

Source: Xinhua