Current:Home > ContactCambodia records second bird flu death in a week, third this year, after no cases since 2014 -WealthRoots Academy
Cambodia records second bird flu death in a week, third this year, after no cases since 2014
View
Date:2025-04-17 06:14:56
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A 2-year-old girl is the second person in Cambodia to die of bird flu this week, and the third this year, the country’s Health Ministry has announced.
Laboratory tests confirmed that the girl, who lived in the southeastern province of Prey Veng, died Monday with H5N1 avian influenza, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry had announced on Sunday that a 50-year-old man in neighboring Svay Rieng province also had died from bird flu. In February, an 11-year-old girl became the country’s first bird flu fatality since 2014. Her father was also found to be infected but survived.
According to a global tally by the U.N.‘s World Health Organization, from January 2003 to July 2023, there have 878 cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza reported from 23 countries, 458 of them fatal. Cambodia had recorded 58 cases since 2003 of humans infected with bird flu.
“Since 2003, this virus has spread in bird populations from Asia to Europe and Africa, and to the Americas in 2021, and has become endemic in poultry populations in many countries,” the WHO says on its website. “Outbreaks have resulted in millions of poultry infections, several hundred human cases and many human deaths. Human cases have been reported mostly from countries in Asia, but also from countries in Africa, the Americas and Europe.”
The United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that bird flu outbreaks were on the rise globally, with more than 21,000 outbreaks across the world between 2013 and 2022. Bird flu only rarely infects humans.
Scientists worry that rising cases of H5N1, particularly in animals that have frequent contact with humans, might lead to a mutated version of the disease that could spread easily between people, triggering another pandemic.
Chhuon Srey Mao, the 22-year-old mother of the dead girl, told The Associated Press by phone from Chhmar Lort village that her daughter fell sick on Oct. 1 with symptoms of coughing, high temperature and vomiting. The girl received treatment from a local physician for five days, but was sent on Oct. 5 to the capital Phnom Penh for advanced care when her condition worsened. She died at the children’s hospital.
The mother said that from late September, several chickens in her village, including at least four of her own, had died. She added that she had discarded the chickens that died, not cooking them for food. People have caught the virus both from domestic fowl and from wild birds such as ducks.
“I have no idea why my daughter would contract bird flu because she never touched or ate the dead chickens,” Chhuon Srey Mao said, “But I presume that she may have become infected with the virus when she played in the yard, as she normally did, where the chickens had been.”
She said the five surviving members of her family are in good health, but she is worried about them. Health officials have been to her village to deploy a virus-killing spray at her home and others, and advised all the villagers to report if they get sick.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Bonus dad surprises boy on an obstacle course after returning from Army deployment
- US joins in other nations in swearing off coal power to clean the climate
- Dow jumps 520 points as investors cheer inflation slowdown
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- How Off the Beaten Path Bookstore in Colorado fosters community, support of banned books
- After Beyoncé attended her concert film, Taylor Swift attends premiere for Renaissance concert film
- NASA Artemis moon landing in 2025 unlikely as challenges mount, GAO report says
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Trump and DeSantis will hold dueling campaign events in Iowa with the caucuses just six weeks away
Ranking
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- NASA Artemis moon landing in 2025 unlikely as challenges mount, GAO report says
- DeSantis says Florida GOP chair should resign amid rape allegation
- 20 years ago, George W. Bush launched AIDS relief and saved lives. US needs to lead again.
- Bodycam footage shows high
- AP PHOTOS: Rosalynn Carter’s farewell tracing her 96 years from Plains to the world and back
- Kenyan cult leader sentenced to 18 months for film violations but still not charged over mass graves
- George Santos expelled from Congress in historic House vote
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Venezuela’s government and opposition agree on appeal process for candidates banned from running
Where to watch 'A Charlie Brown Christmas': 'Peanuts' movie only on streaming this year
AP Exclusive: America’s Black attorneys general discuss race, politics and the justice system
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
Nickel ore processing plant that will supply Tesla strikes deal to spend $115M in federal funds
Bonus dad surprises boy on an obstacle course after returning from Army deployment
Venezuela’s government and opposition agree on appeal process for candidates banned from running