#19,102
With thanks for the head's up from @E_A_Karlsson, we have the following announcement from Cambodia's Ministry of Health on their 3rd confirmed HPAI H5N1 human infection of 2026 - and 37th in just over 3 years - this time involving a 3 y.o. child from Oddar Meanchey Province who was confirmed positive on March 29th.
It was over 3 years ago that an older clade of H5N1 (2.3.2.1.x) reemerged in Cambodia's population after a 9 year absence, spilling over into 6 humans in 2023, 10 people in 2024, and 18 people in 2025.Kingdom of Cambodia
Nation Religion King
Ministry of Health
Press Release
On A case of bird flu in a 3-year-old child
The Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia would like to inform the public that there is 1 case of bird flu in a 3-year-old boy who was confirmed to be positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus on March 29, 2026 by the National Institute of Public Health. The patient lives in Tumnup Thmey village, Beng commune, Banteay Ampil district, Oddar Meanchey province, and there have been reports of sick and dead chickens and ducks in the village. The patient has been isolated in hospital and is receiving intensive medical care. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the patient’s home has chickens and ducks, including some sick and dead chickens, which the child had played around.
The emergency response teams of the national and sub-national ministries of health have been collaborating with the teams of the provincial agriculture departments and local authorities at all levels to actively investigate the outbreak of bird flu and respond according to technical methods and protocols, find the source of transmission in both animals and humans, and search for suspected cases and contacts to prevent further transmission in the community, as well as distribute Tamiflu to close contacts and conduct health education campaigns among residents in the affected villages.
The Ministry of Health would like to remind all citizens to always pay attention to and be vigilant about bird flu because H5N1 bird flu continues to threaten the health of our citizens. We would also like to inform you that if you have a fever, cough, runny nose, or difficulty breathing and have a history of contact with sick or dead chickens or ducks within 14 days before the onset of symptoms, do not go to gatherings or crowded places and seek consultation and examination and treatment at the nearest health center or hospital immediately. Avoid delaying this, which puts you at high risk of eventual death.
How it is transmitted: H5N1 bird flu is a type of flu that is usually spread from sick birds to other birds, but it can sometimes be spread from birds to humans through close contact with sick or dead birds. Bird flu in humans is a serious illness that requires prompt hospital treatment. Although it is not easily transmitted from person to person, if it mutates, it can be contagious, just like seasonal flu.
1/2
Address: Lot No. 80, Samdech Pen Nut Street (289)
Sangkat Boeung Kak 2, Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh
Phone: (+855) 23 885 970
Email: info@moh.gov.kh
Website: www.moh.gov.kh
Cambodia's recent cases are due to a new reassortment of an older clade of the H5N1 virus (recently renamed 2.3.2.1e) - which appears to be spreading rapidly through both wild birds and local poultry.
Unlike the newer clade 2.3.4.4b H5Nx viruses - which have shown much lower mortality rates in the United States - this older clade has proved fatal in about 40% of the cases reported by Cambodia since 2023.
There is currently no evidence to suggest human-to-human transmission of this H5 virus, with most cases reporting recent contact with sick or dead poultry.While we continue to focus primarily on clade 2.3.4.4b H5 viruses in the United States, these cases remind us that there are many other iterations of HPAI H5 circulating around the globe (see Viruses: Zoonotic Implications of the Co-Circulation of Clade 2.3.4.4b and 2.3.2.1a H5N1 Avian Influenza Viruses in Nepal in 2023), each on a different evolutionary trajectory.