Avian Flu, 15-Year-Old Dies: Here’s Where

A 15-year-old girl, affected by the avian influenza A H5N1 virus, She died in Cambodia on August 20 and his case, notified after being confirmed by laboratory tests, was confirmed today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The infection was communicated to the UN health agency on the day of his death, August 20. The girl had no underlying diseases and was a resident of Prey Veng province. On August 11, she began to have a fever, and on the 17th she was admitted to a center for severe acute respiratory infections in Phnom Penh.

Symptoms and course of the disease

At the time of hospitalization, she had a cough, fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing. Doctors immediately treated her with the antiviral Oseltamivir and performed naso-oropharyngeal swabs, which in the following days were positive for A H5N1. The virus belongs to the H5 2.3.2.1c clade, similar to viruses circulating in Cambodia and Southeast Asia. However, its internal genes belong to viruses of the H5 2.3.4.4b clade. This new reassortant influenza A(H5N1) virus has been detected in human cases reported in Cambodia since late 2023.

The 15-year-old’s case is one of 10 human cases of A H5N1 infection reported in Cambodia in 2024. Since 2003, the country has recorded a total of 72 cases of human infection with A H5N1, including 43 deaths. Based on the information currently available, “WHO considers that the current risk posed by this virus to the general population is low,” the statement said.

Dead chickens in the village

According to the initial investigation of the case, about 5 days before the onset of the patient’s illness, dead chickens had been reported in the village. The 15-year-old’s family had been given some of these chickens for consumption and the girl had been exposed to infected poultry during food preparation. The Cambodian Department of Infectious Diseases, the Ministry of Health and the local Rapid Response Team have identified 6 close contacts of the girl, all of whom have been treated with the antiviral Oseltamivir and placed under monitoring and are currently asymptomatic. Health authorities are currently awaiting the results of tests conducted on samples collected from chickens and ducks in the village to see if they are positive for the virus. Of the 2024 cases, two have died and in 9 cases the patients were under 18.

WHO risk assessment

The available epidemiological and virological evidence, analyses the WHO, “suggests that H5N1 viruses have not acquired the capacity for sustained transmission between humans.. Therefore, the likelihood of sustained human-to-human spread is low at this time.” However, “as the virus continues to circulate in poultry, particularly in rural areas of Cambodia, further sporadic human cases can be expected.”

The risk assessment will be revised if further information becomes available. In the meantime, this latest case of avian influenza “does not change WHO recommendations on public health measures and influenza surveillance.” People should avoid contact with high-risk environments, such as markets or farms with live animals and live poultry, or with surfaces that may be contaminated with poultry excrement. In addition, it is recommended to maintain good hand hygiene by washing hands frequently with soap or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

WHO currently “does not recommend special screening of travellers at points of entry or other restrictions due to the current situation of influenza viruses at the human-animal interface”.