Phnom Penh, June 24
A 41-year-old woman from northwestern Cambodia's Siem Reap province has been confirmed for H5N1 human avian influenza, raising the number of cases to seven so far this year, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
"A laboratory result from the National Institute of Public Health showed on June 23 that the woman was positive for H5N1 virus," the statement said on Monday night.
"The patient has the symptoms of fever, cough, and dyspnea, and she is currently in critical condition," it added.
According to queries, there were sick and dead chickens at the patient's home and her neighbour's homes, and the patient had been in contact with sick and dead chickens and cooked them for food five days before she felt ill.
Health authorities are looking into the source of the infection and are examining any suspected cases or people who have been in contact with the victim in order to prevent an outbreak in the community.
Tamiflu (oseltamivir), an antiviral drug to prevent the bird flu from spreading, was also given out to people who had direct contact with the patient, the statement said.
So far this year, the kingdom recorded a total of seven human cases of H5N1 bird flu, with five deaths.
From 2003 to date, there were 79 cases of human infection with H5N1 influenza, including 48 deaths in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry, Xinhua news agency reported.
Bird flu is very rarely contagious (spread from person to person), but there have been a few cases of spread between humans. None of these happened in the US. In almost all cases so far, human bird flu infections have come from contact with infected animals. But any time a human is infected, it's possible that the virus could mutate to spread easily to other humans.
Humans can get bird flu if they come in contact with an infected animal's body fluid, like spit (saliva), milk, respiratory droplets or poop (feces). You can breathe it in from small dust particles in animal habitats or get it into your eyes, nose or mouth after touching body fluids.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is concerning for all of Asia. Cambodia is not too far from India and we share migratory bird routes. Our health ministry should monitor this closely. We've seen how pandemics can spread globally very fast after COVID. Better safe than sorry!
Why are people still handling sick poultry barehanded? 😣 In India too I see this in villages - proper awareness about zoonotic diseases is needed. Government should run campaigns in regional languages about safe poultry handling.
The mortality rate seems high - 5 deaths out of 7 cases this year. Hope Cambodia gets international support to contain this. Our ICMR should offer assistance if needed. Health crises don't respect borders.
We should learn from this and strengthen our poultry surveillance systems. India is world's 3rd largest egg producer - an outbreak here would be devastating. Prevention is always cheaper than cure.
Poor woman 😔 48 deaths since 2003 is no small number. Media focuses only when it becomes pandemic. These developing countries need constant support for disease surveillance, not just when West gets scared.
While this is concerning, let's not panic. Article clearly says human-to-human transmission is rare. But yes, our airports should screen travelers from affected regions, just as precaution. Jai Hind!
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