A prospective study on the incidence of dog bites and management in a rural Cambodian, rabies-endemic setting.

Rabies circulates intensely in Cambodia, mainly affecting rural populations. We conducted a prospective study to estimate the baseline incidence of potentially infective dog bites in rural villages of Siem Reap province, Cambodia. The study was conducted in a convenience sample of 844 families totaling 1779 persons in four villages.

Development of a participatory tool for the evaluation of Village Animal Health Workers in Cambodia.

In countries with a lack of primary care systems, health workers are of crucial importance to improving the delivery of health and animal health services at community level. But somehow they are rarely evaluated and usually with a top-down approach. This is the case in Cambodia, where thousands of Village Animal Health Workers (VAHWs) have been trained by the government, and where no standardized evaluation tool is available to accurately assess the situation.

Cluster randomised trial of the impact of biosecurity measures on poultry health in backyard flocks.

In Cambodia, most poultry are raised in backyard flocks with a low level of biosecurity, which increases the risk of spread of infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a practical biosecurity intervention based on affordable basic measures. A cluster randomised trial was conducted in 18 villages in Cambodia from November 2009 to February 2011.

A community-based education trial to improve backyard poultry biosecurity in rural Cambodia.

The emergence and spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 has caused substantial poultry-related economic losses and public health concerns in relation to a potential pandemic. While biosecurity measures for commercial poultry industry are of the highest standards, these measures are difficult to implement and often unaffordable for backyard poultry farming, particularly in tropical and low-income settings. We designed a feasible biosecurity intervention to improve flock hygiene in Cambodia, - based on community hygiene, cleaning of poultry flock areas and human and poultry movement control.