WHO says bird flu 'situation is worrying' after death of 11-yr-old girl in Cambodia

The death of an 11-year-old girl who contracted bird flu in Cambodia has rung alarm bells for the World Health Organization (WHO), which has said that reports of the virus being found in humans are "worrying." On Thursday, Cambodian authorities found that a girl from the Prey Veng province had succumbed to H5N1. After conducting tests on 12 of her close contacts, it was discovered that the minor's father had also contracted the virus.

The next day, the WHO's epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention director Sylvie Briand expressed concern over the reports and said that it is unclear if the two cases occurred due to human-to-human contact or close contact with infected animals.

“So far, it is too early to know if it’s human-to-human transmission or exposure to the same environmental conditions,” Briand told a virtual media conference hosted in Geneva. “The global H5N1 situation is worrying given the wide spread of the virus in birds around the world and the increasing reports of cases in mammals including humans. WHO takes the risk from this virus seriously and urges heightened vigilance from all countries," she added.

What is H5N1? 

This comes days after the government agency deduced that the risk of humans contracting H5N1 bird flu was low. Nonetheless, the WHO's director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that recent human cases need to be monitored carefully. “Since H5N1 first emerged in 1996, we have only seen rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans. But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo,” he said.

H5N1, commonly referred to as bird flu, is an extremely infectious strain of avian influenza A virus that can cause severe health complications in birds, such as respiratory disease and even death. The virus possesses the ability to transfer from birds to other animals, as well as to humans by infected poultry or areas that have been contaminated.