11-year-old boy is Cambodia's fourth bird flu death this year
[May 29, 2025]
By SOPHENG CHEANG
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An 11-year-old boy died from bird flu in
Cambodia's fourth fatal case this year, the Health Ministry announced
Wednesday.
Several chickens and ducks near the boy’s house were found to have been
sick and dying for a week before the child started feeling ill, the
ministry said in a statement.
“Despite the care and rescue efforts of the medical team, the child
died" Tuesday at a hospital after arriving with a fever, cough,
shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, the ministry said.
Tests from the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia confirmed the boy, who
lived in a village in the western province of Kampong Speu, died of H5N1
avian influenza.
A Health Ministry emergency response team has been working with local
authorities to investigate the source of the village’s bird flu outbreak
and respond with the appropriate technical protocols to prevent further
transmission to others, the statement said.
The medicine Tamiflu will be distributed to people whose contacts put
them at risk and health education campaigns will be conducted in the
affected villages, the ministry said.
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 “We would also like to inform you
that if you have a fever, cough, sputum discharge, or difficulty
breathing and have a history of contact with sick or dead chickens
or ducks within 14 days before the start of the symptoms, do not go
to gatherings or crowded places and seek consultation and treatment
at the nearest health center or hospital immediately,“ the ministry
warned. “Avoid delaying this, which puts you at high risk of
eventual death.”
Cambodia so far this year has recorded four human
cases of H5N1 bird flu, all fatal.
All the victims were reported to have a history of exposure to sick
or dead poultry prior to their illness. According to the World
Health Organization, as of Monday, before the latest Cambodian
casualty, there were 10 confirmed human cases of bird flu reported
worldwide so far this year, half of them fatal.
Bird flu infections in humans are relatively rare and aren’t
considered a food safety risk. But as it hits other species,
including some mammals, scientists fear the virus could evolve to
spread more easily among people.
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