Bird flu kills Cambodian girl in rare human case
STORY: Health workers in Cambodia disinfected a home in the country’s south on Thursday, after a girl who lived there died from so-called bird flu.
It’s the Southeast Asian nation's first known human infection of the H5N1 avian influenza since 2014, according to its Minister of Health in a statement.
It said the 11-year-old from Prey Veng province was diagnosed with bird flu - after falling sick with a high fever and cough on February 16.
And that her condition worsened before she died on Wednesday.
On Friday, authorities announced the girl’s father had tested positive for H5N1 but was showing no symptoms.
They’re also testing others who had been in contact with the girl, and warning Cambodians not to handle dead or sick animals and birds.
Avian flu has ravaged farms around the world over the past year or so.
It’s led to the deaths of more than 200 million birds - from either the disease or mass culls, the World Organization for Animal Health told Reuters mid-February.
A spillover to mammals has sparked more concern among experts recently, with hundreds of sealions killed by bird flu across Peru since mid-January.
The World Health Organization earlier this month noted the spread of H5N1 influenza to mammals, but said the risk to humans remained low.
