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Cambodia: 6th Bird Flu Fatality Of 2011

 

 

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Yesterday RoRo on FluTrackers picked up on an FAO Empres report about a human bird flu infection in Cambodia.   Few details were available at that time, but this morning we know more, as evidenced by the following World Health Organization  situation update.

 

 

Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia - update 4

10 June 2011 - The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia has announced a confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus.

 

The case was a 7 year old female from Prasat village, Prasat commune, Kampong Trabek district, Prey Veng Province. She developed symptoms on 24 May, was initially treated by local private practitioners with no effect and was later admitted to Kantha Bopha Children Hospital on 31 May. She died on 7 June, seven days after admission.

 

There have been reports of poultry die off in her village and the case is reported to have had exposure to sick poultry. The female is the sixteenth person in Cambodia to become infected with the H5N1 virus and the fourteenth to die from complications of the disease. All six cases of H5N1 infections in humans in Cambodia this year have been fatal.

 

The National and local Rapid Response Team (RRT) is conducting outbreak investigation and response following the national protocol.

 

After seeing only 4 cases of H5N1 infection in humans over the past 4 years, Cambodia in 2011 has suddenly become the focus of renewed attention after 6 fatal cases have been reported over the past four months.

 

Four of these cases have been detected in Prey Veng Province, and 5 have been young children.


Earlier reports on these cases include:

 

Cambodia Reports 5th Bird Flu Fatality
IRIN: Cambodia’s Bird Flu Risk "under control" - Experts
Cambodia: 4th Bird Flu Fatality Of 2011
WHO Update On Cambodian H5N1 Fatalities

 

The clustering of cases in and around Prey Veng Province, and over an extended period of four months, suggests that the virus may be well entrenched in local poultry.

 

Luckily, H5N1 remains difficult for humans to catch. Although we continue to see isolated human infections around the world, for now H5N1 is primarily a threat to poultry.

 

The virus remains poorly adapted to human physiology, and despite ample opportunities in places like Egypt and Indonesia, only causes rare, sporadic infections.

 

The concern, of course, is that over time that may change.

 

And so the world remains at Pre-pandemic Phase III on the H5N1 virus, and we continue to watch for signs that the virus is adapting to humans.

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