Officials warn those in Thailand’s northeastern province of Chaiyaphum of Norovirus

Officials are warning those living in Thailand’s northeastern province of Chaiyaphum of the spread of Norovirus.

Residents are being advised to make sure food is properly cooked and contains no raw or half-cooked ingredients.

According to Thai PBS World, more than 300 students at four schools in the Mueang district have been sent to hospitals since Tuesday. Several were admitted for treatment after having diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach aches, and nausea.

Wachira Botphibul, the provincial health chief, says lab tests from those children have confirmed the presence of the Norovirus. He added that the virus can be commonly found in ice.

He says he has instructed health officials to advise people to take additional precautions over the food they are consuming.

Governor Sophon Suwannarat visited the sick students at the provincial hospital to offer moral support. He says a number of other students are being treated at private hospitals, some of who are on saline drips.

Meanwhile, bird flu, or H5N1, has taken the life of an 11 year old girl in Cambodia, marking the first known infection from the disease since 2014. The girl from the rural southeastern province of Prey Veng fell ill on February 16 and was sent to a hospital in Phnom Penh.

According to the South China Morning Post, doctors diagnosed the little girl on Wednesday after she had suffered from a fever of 39 degrees Celsius. She was also reportedly coughing and had a sore throat. The Health Ministry says that she died the same night.

Health officials say they went to a conservation area near the girl’s home and took samples of a dead wild bird. The team also warned residents about touching dead and sick birds.

Cambodian Health Minister, Mam Bunheng, warned that children are at a high risk of contracting the disease if they are feeding or collecting eggs from domesticated poultry. He also said playing with the birds or cleaning their cages increases the risk of contracting bird flu.