The Cambodian girl died shortly after her AH5N1 infection was confirmed.
A senior World Health Organization official reacted to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia with bird flu, saying Friday that the recent global spread of the virus and human infection was “alarming”.
Dr. Sylvie Briand, director of WHO’s Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, added that the UN agency is “in close contact with the Cambodian authorities to understand more about the outbreak.”
Speaking ahead of a meeting in Geneva on influenza vaccines, Briand called the global situation regarding the virus “alarming given the widespread spread of the virus in birds around the world, and the increasing reports of cases of infection in mammals, including humans.”
“The World Health Organization takes the risks of this virus seriously and urges increased vigilance from all countries,” she said.
Independent experts have also expressed concern about the bird flu wave that has spread to most parts of the world since late 2021, which poses a potential threat to public health.
The Cambodian girl, from a village in the southeastern province of Bri Feng, died on Wednesday in a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed her infection with bird flu of the type “AH5N1”, according to the Cambodian Ministry of Health.
The girl fell ill on the 16th of February, and when her condition deteriorated, she was taken to the hospital with a fever of up to 39 degrees Celsius, accompanied by a cough and a sore throat.
Health authorities said on Friday that the girl’s father had contracted the virus but had not shown any major symptoms.