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Cambodia: 11-year-old dies of bird flu

2023-02-23T14:56:22.853Z


When people contract the H5N1 bird flu virus, they often become very ill or die. Cambodia reports its first case since 2014.


Enlarge image

Ducks by a pond outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The H5N1 avian flu virus is currently rampant among wild birds and poultry

Photo: Heng Sinith/AP

An 11-year-old girl has died from bird flu in Cambodia.

It is the first case in the country since 2014 of a human contracting the H5N1 bird flu virus, according to authorities.

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, as the name suggests, usually affects wild birds and poultry.

Most cases of human infection are due to close contact with infected birds.

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The girl fell ill on February 16 and was taken to a hospital in the capital Phnom Penh for treatment, where she died.

Health officials are now examining samples from a dead wild bird at a wildlife sanctuary near the home where the girl was staying, the health ministry said.

Residents in the region would be warned not to touch sick or dead birds.

Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng warned that avian flu poses a particularly high risk to children who may be feeding domestic fowl, cleaning cages or playing with the animals.

The symptoms of H5N1 infection are similar to those of regular flu, including cough, pain and fever.

In severe cases, patients can develop life-threatening pneumonia.

The infection is often fatal for humans.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were a total of 56 human cases of H5N1 in Cambodia between 2003 and 2014, and 37 of those affected died as a result of the infection.

Since 2003, around 870 human H5N1 infections from 21 countries have been reported to the WHO, around 460 of which were fatal.

Cases in bears, otters, mink

In recent months, the H5N1 virus has been detected in various mammals, including bears, lynx, foxes, otters and sea lions.

Experts view the development with concern.

In October 2022 there was an outbreak of bird flu on a Spanish mink farm.

The virus is believed to have spread directly from mink to mink.

The virologist Thomas Mettenleiter described this in SPIEGEL as a "warning signal".

Mettenleiter is President of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI), the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern at a press conference in early February: "H5N1 has spread widely in wild birds and poultry over the past 25 years, but recent spread to mammals needs to be monitored closely."

In January, Ecuador reported an H5N1 infection in a human: A nine-year-old girl became so ill that she had to be treated in intensive care.

The WHO still estimates the risk of bird flu for humans as low.

"But we cannot assume that this will remain the case and we must prepare for any change in the status quo," said the WHO chief.

wbr/AP

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2023-02-23

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