A two-year-old girl has died from bird flu in Cambodia, officials said, the South-East Asian nation’s second death from the virus this year.
The girl caught the virus playing near sick chickens at her home in southeastern Prey Veng province and died on Tuesday after suffering fever, coughing and breathing difficulties, the health ministry said in a statement. Tests confirmed she had contracted the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
The toddler “slept and played” near a chicken cage at her family home where about 15 birds died and others are sick, it added.
The ministry warned bird flu remained a threat in Cambodia and said officials were investigating the source of the virus that caused the girl’s death.
Last month, a 28-year-old Cambodian man also died from bird flu after eating infected chicken meat. — AFP
