First death from bird flu in Cambodia, WHO launches investigation

Cambodia: Although bird flu has been reported in many small countries, the first fatality in Cambodia has alarmed other organizations including the World Health Organization.

According to initial reports, an 11-year-old girl died in Cambodia last week, which is believed to have been caused by bird flu. Thus, this incident in Cambodia is also the first incident of death from bird flu i.e. H5N1 in South Asia. Cambodia's Minister of Health, Mam Boon Heng, confirmed this, saying that the virus was first detected only in birds in 2014, and now not only has it been transmitted to humans, but there has also been one fatality.

When World Health Organization (WHO) experts made an urgent visit to Cambodia, by that time two more members of the same family had been confirmed. On the other hand, the head of epidemiology at the World Health Organization, Dr. Sylvie Brand, said that bird flu has been transmitted from birds to small mammals, including otters and nymphs.

A few weeks ago bird flu was discovered in Asia, Europe and Africa where it is also affecting poultry farms. It is for this reason that the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called it alarming and indicated further investigation.