The young bird flu victim in Cambodia is not the source of her father’s infection, according to health authorities.
- The case of a man who tested positive for the virus after the death of his sick daughter had alerted the health authorities.
- It was contaminated by birds that died of avian flu.
- Although the risk of bird flu infection in humans is low, the situation remains worrying, according to the WHO.
In full bird flu epidemic in many parts of the world, this news is reassuring.
The bird flu virus can be transmitted to humans
While in Cambodia, the father of the first bird flu victim in 9 years was also positive for the virus, the authorities feared that the infection was transmitted between humans. But “no transmission between father and daughter was found”finally announced on the evening of Tuesday, February 28, the government health monitoring agency via AFP.
An investigation showed that they had both contracted the H5N1 virus through contact with birds in the village. The 11-year-old girl, from the rural southeastern province of Prey Veng, died but her 49-year-old father, who showed no symptoms, was discharged from hospital.
According to’Pastor Institute, bird flu is “a viral disease that is prevalent in birds, and whose mortality rate is very high in farmed birds (chickens, geese, etc.).” H5N1 is one of the very few avian influenza viruses that can be pathogenic for humans.
WHO urges vigilance against bird flu virus
Globally, there have been more than 457 fatal cases of bird flu since 2003, according to theWHO. In Cambodia, no cases in humans were recorded between 2015 and 2022, according to the UN agency, compared to 30 deaths between 2010 and 2014.
In early February, the World Health Organization (WHO) called to a vigilance in the face of infections that had affected mammals such as foxes, otters, or even mink.
“Ihe recent spill on mammals needs to be watched closely“, had declared Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, adding that “at this time the WHO assesses the risk to humans as low but we cannot assume this will remain the case and we must be prepared for any change in the status quo“.
The authorities recall thatavoid contact with wild or farmed animals, dead or sick.
