The H5N1 bird flu has infected two more humans, and this time, they are both children who live in Cambodia. This raises the country’s total for the year to seven cases, according to health ministry statements translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog.

The University of Minnesota’s CIDRAP reported that on July 6th, the ministry discovered the first new case of H5N1 bird flu in a human. The infected person was a 3-year-old boy from Takeo province in the southern part of the country. Initial symptoms included fever, cough, and breathing difficulty. The boy was hospitalized, and his condition is improving. An investigation found that 10 days earlier he had touched and held a chicken that had died in the village.

The ministry also reported a second case on July 8th, involving a 5-year-old girl who is a cousin of the first patient and lived in the same home. The girl had a fever and is receiving treatment. Officials said her illness is mild. Investigators found that she had also touched the dead chicken.

Cambodia Records 2 More Cases Of Avian Influenza, and A Death

Cambodia has reported a rising number of human infections, with 13 reported since February 2023. Infections with bird flu are often serious or fatal.

So far, the clade isn’t known, but other recent H5N1 illnesses in Cambodia were linked to the older 2.3.2.1c clade that circulates in poultry in some Asian countries, including Cambodia. It is different from the 2.3.4.4b clade affecting wild birds, poultry, and some mammals across several world regions. –CIDRAP

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