Map Credit WHO WPRO
# 7953
Although there was a Xinhua News report yesterday of a 24th H5N1 case in Kampot Province, Cambodia (see CIDRAP NEWS report), as of this morning the usual official sources (Cambodia UN, Cambodian MOH, WHO WPRO) have yet to publish an update.
Today, Xinhua is reporting that the 10 year-old victim has died.
Bird flu kills 13 people in Cambodia this year
Xinhua | 2013-11-9 17:50:55
A ten-year-old boy died of bird flu on Saturday, bringing the death toll of the fatal disease to 13 in Cambodia so far this year, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said.
"We regret to announce that the boy passed away in Kantha Bopha Hospital this morning," said Sonny Inbaraj Krishnan, communication and media relations officer at the WHO office in Cambodia.
Only 11 out of the 24 cases this year survived.
The boy was confirmed positive for human H5N1 avian influenza on Thursday after he was admitted to the Kantha Bopha Hospital in Phnom Penh with fever, cough, sore throat, a distended abdomen and dyspnea.
A joint press statement from the Cambodian Health Ministry and the WHO office said the investigation found that a month before the boy fell ill, about 30 chickens had died suddenly in his village in southern Kampot province and the boy helped carry dead chickens for his brother who was preparing a meal from them.
H5N1 influenza usually spreads among poultry, but it can sometimes spread from poultry to human, according to the WHO.
To date, the country has reported 45 human cases of contracting the deadly virus, killing 32 people.
This makes the third case reported out of Cambodia over the past 10 days.
Since these three cases have all come from different provinces, it makes it likely that these are sporadic transmissions from birds or the environment rather than a sign of increased human-to-human transmission.
2005 – 4 cases 2010 – 1 case
2006 – 2 cases 2011 – 8 cases
2007 – 1 case 2012 - 3 cases
2008 – 1 case 2013 – 24 cases
2009 – 1 case
While reporting of cases from other H5N1 endemic nations (notably Indonesia, Egypt & China) has decreased in recent years, the number of cases being reported out of Cambodia has grown markedly. This year’s tally is now three times greater than Cambodia’s previous record year of 2011 – and we have nearly 2 months left to go.
Exactly what is driving this sudden uptick in cases isn’t clear, although better surveillance and testing for the illness could be a factor.
For now, H5N1 remains poorly adapted to humans - only rarely being passed from one person to another - and is primarily a threat to poultry.
But like its H7N9 cousin (and a handful of other emerging viruses) - we keep a close eye on its behavior – looking for any signs that it may be becoming better adapted to a human host.
