Cambodia records more deaths from H5N1 bird flu

Cambodia has just recorded another death from the A/H5N1 avian influenza virus.

The patient is a 2-year-old girl living in Chmar Lot village, South Snong commune, Kamchay Mear district, Prey Veng province.

The Cambodian Ministry of Health announced on the evening of October 9 that the above case had been confirmed positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus by the National Institute of Public Health earlier the same day.

This is the third human death this year from the H5N1 bird flu virus and also the 59th case of infection with this virus in Cambodia since 2005, including 40 deaths.

Cambodia's Ministry of Health rapid response teams at the national and local levels are working to investigate the cause of transmission in both animals and humans, while implementing quarantine measures and distributing Tamiflu to people who have had close contact with the patient.

A/H5N1 is a highly contagious influenza virus that causes severe respiratory disease in birds, hence the name avian influenza. Cases of H5N1 avian influenza in humans occur occasionally but are very difficult to transmit from person to person.

According to the Cambodian Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a small number of human cases of A/H5N1 influenza virus infection have been detected since 2022, although avian influenza is widespread among birds and poultry.

Nearly all human cases of avian influenza since 2022 have involved exposure to poultry, but no cases of H5N1 transmission from mammals to humans or from person to person have been detected. In some cases, the source of exposure to H5N1 has not been clearly identified. Therefore, the current risk to the public from influenza A/H5N1 remains low.

However, Cambodian officials predict there will continue to be human cases due to the virus's ability to evolve rapidly and spread globally.

Continued comprehensive surveillance of this virus in wild birds, poultry, mammals and humans worldwide is important to determine the public health risk.