- Photo: IANS file
PHNOM PENH: A 28-year-old Cambodian man died from bird flu on Friday (Jan 10) after eating sick chickens, the health ministry said.
The man from eastern Kampong Cham province, tested positive for H5N1 on Thursday, the health ministry said in a statement.
"The patient was in critical situation with fever, coughing and difficulty breathing," before he died on Friday, the ministry said.
At least three people, including a two-year-old girl, died from bird flu in the kingdom in 2023 while a nine-year-old boy succumbed to the virus last year.
Avian influenza A(H5N1) first emerged in 1996.
In July, the World Health Organization warned that its ability to manage the risk to humans posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus was being compromised by patchy surveillance.
The WHO called on all countries to step up influenza surveillance and reporting in animals and humans, and for nations to share samples and genetic sequences.
The latest Cambodian victim had raised poultry at his home and "cooked sick chickens for food", the health ministry in Phnom Penh said.
Officials were investigating the source of the virus and searching for any suspected cases in the community, it added.
It urged people to be vigilant because "bird flu H5N1 remains a threat to the health of our people".
Since late 2021, Europe has been hit by its worst outbreak of bird flu, with North and South America also experiencing severe outbreaks.
Tens of millions of domestic poultry have been culled worldwide as a result, many with the H5N1 strain.
The global outbreak is also responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of wild birds. - AFP
