PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An 11-year-old boy died from bird flu in Cambodia's fourth fatal case this year, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday.
Several chickens and ducks near the boy’s house were found to have been sick and dying for a week before the child started feeling ill, the ministry said in a statement.
“Despite the care and rescue efforts of the medical team, the child died" Tuesday at a hospital after arriving with a fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, the ministry said.
Tests from the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia confirmed the boy, who lived in a village in the western province of Kampong Speu, died of H5N1 avian influenza.
A Health Ministry emergency response team has been working with local authorities to investigate the source of the village’s bird flu outbreak and respond with the appropriate technical protocols to prevent further transmission to others, the statement said.
The medicine Tamiflu will be distributed to people whose contacts put them at risk and health education campaigns will be conducted in the affected villages, the ministry said.
“We would also like to inform you that if you have a fever, cough, sputum discharge, or difficulty breathing and have a history of contact with sick or dead chickens or ducks within 14 days before the start of the symptoms, do not go to gatherings or crowded places and seek consultation and treatment at the nearest health center or hospital immediately,“ the ministry warned. “Avoid delaying this, which puts you at high risk of eventual death.”
Cambodia so far this year has recorded four human cases of H5N1 bird flu, all fatal.
All the victims were reported to have a history of exposure to sick or dead poultry prior to their illness. According to the World Health Organization, as of Monday, before the latest Cambodian casualty, there were 10 confirmed human cases of bird flu reported worldwide so far this year, half of them fatal.
Bird flu infections in humans are relatively rare and aren’t considered a food safety risk. But as it hits other species, including some mammals, scientists fear the virus could evolve to spread more easily among people.
Sopheng Cheang, The Associated Press
