Public health

Alcohol consumption in Cambodia is high enough that authorities are now drafting legislation for a drinking age. But as the country and its economy develop, many here say it has become an essential part of their social—and professional—lives. ...

The number of reported dengue fever cases has risen to 2,688 dengue in the first six months of this year, up 116 percent from the 1,245 cases over the same period last year, a statement from the Health Ministry said. ...

Cambodia’s budget for mental health care must be increased dramatically if the government aims to properly respond to the mounting demand for services in the Kingdom, health experts said yesterday. ...

About one in 25 Cambodians have speech and swallowing disorders, with tens of thousands dying each year due to related complications, according to experts. ...

A draft of Cambodia’s first alcohol law—which if passed would introduce a drinking age of 21 and ban the sale of alcohol between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.—will be sent to the Council of Ministers by the end of the week, Health Minister Mam Bunheng ...

Police are searching for a 26-year-old unlicensed dentist in Tbong Khmum province who is believed to have used a rope to strangle a patient to death at his clinic in order to steal her jewelry and motorbike, along with about $3,000 in cash, an official ...

Officials from the Ministry of Health’s national eye health program yesterday released a report announcing that trachoma, an eye infection that can lead to blindness, is no longer a public health problem in Cambodia. ...

The Ministry of Health has completed a draft law on alcohol regulation, which will set a minimum drinking age, increase taxes on alcohol and place other controls on the sale, consumption and advertising of alcohol. ...

About 100 homeless and mentally ill Cambodians who are being detained in a center on the outskirts of Phnom Penh implored an opposition lawmaker on Tuesday to request that the facility serve them better quality food and stop torture and other rights abuses. ...

The recent death from rabies of a French resident of Kampot has caused coastal vets and doctors to call for increased vigilance and improved preventative measures in Cambodia, which is still classed as a “red” zone for the lethal virus. ...

A community-based HIV testing program is the first of its kind in the region. While this peer-provided HIV counselling and testing has increased the number of people tested from key populations, it has not detected a significant number of new HIV cases. In 2014, there ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Health Department has closed more than 200 illegal dental clinics in the capital in the first six months of the year, and has filed complaints against their owners to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, health officials said yesterday. ...

Unicef and the Ministry of Health have prepared four spots to raise awareness in the care of newborns and young children with illnesses. The ads, for radio and television, aim at improving the country’s high child mortality rate. ...

Unicef and the Cambodian government have launched a campaign to promote better health for children and newborns. Cambodia has made some progress improving the health of women and children, but a high rate of death for children remains a major concern. It saw its newborn mortality ...

As concern about the MERS virus’s spread mounts in the region, the Ministry of Health has ordered health workers in Siem Reap International Airport to use manual thermometers to screen passengers entering the Kingdom as the airport’s only ThermoScan unit is beyond repair. ...

With cases in the past six months more than doubled compared to last year, the Ministry of Health is urging Cambodians to exercise caution as the Kingdom builds toward an expected periodic dengue outbreak. ...

“Roasting”—a Cambodian tradition that sees new mothers lie on beds over a fire for several days in the belief it will scare off evil spirits and warm the body after giving birth—is one of many dangerous but deeply rooted practices that midwives and health practitioners ...

Thailand will give its full cooperation to ASEAN nations to prevent the spread of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus in the region, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday. ...

In an effort to demonstrate government measures to prevent the potentially fatal Middle East respiratory syndrome from entering Cambodia—days after the disease was found in Thailand—the health minister showcased machines that detect people’s body temperature at Phnom Penh International Airport on Tuesday. ...

Following the first case of the potentially deadly Middle East respiratory syndrome being confirmed in Thailand on Thursday, government officials in Cambodia said entry points into the country were already equipped to prevent the disease from spreading here. ...

The Public Health Ministry has put Thailand on a nationwide alert for MERS after one foreigner tested positive for the virus at a Bangkok hospital on Thursday, with various measures being implemented to ensure it does not spread. ...

Cambodian health authorities are on high alert, following the first confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, in Thailand, Thursday. Diagnosis systems have been installed at major border checkpoints and at the airports of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. ...

A Cambodian man who sold his license to operate a medical clinic in Stung Treng City faces up to 10 years in prison after a woman died following an abortion conducted illegally on the premises, a court official said. ...

The director of the Stung Treng Provincial Health Department and owner of the Stung Treng Sekong Clinic was arrested and sent to court yesterday after a doctor under his charge performed a botched abortion that resulted in a woman’s death.​ ...