Following the death of an infected girl in Cambodia, her father also tested positive. But an investigation reveals that the virus, highly contagious in birds, was not transmitted between humans.
The health authorities of Cambodia have ruled out the hypothesis of a transmission of the Avian Flu between human beings, for the case of a man who tested positive for the virus after the death of sick daughter. “An investigation showed that they contracted the virus from contact with birds in the village. No transmission between father and daughter has been found., the government health monitoring agency announced on Tuesday evening. The 49-year-old, who had no symptoms, recovered from the illness and was discharged from hospital, the statement said.
868 cases of H5N1 since 2003
Cambodia recorded its first death in nine years linked to avian flu on February 23: an 11-year-old girl from the rural province of Prey Veng (southeast). She was positive for H5N1, a highly contagious strain in birds, like her father later.
Their case has caused concern, in the midst of an avian flu epidemic in many parts of the world, which in several cases has required the slaughter of tens of millions of birds. Over the past 20 years, some 868 cases of H5N1 have been confirmed by the WHO, with 457 deaths.
Cases have also been identified in mammals and, still very rarely, in the human. The virus can be transmitted to humans most often through direct contact with contaminated farmed poultry. The World Health Organization (WHO) spoke on Friday of a “worrying situation”, while recalling that the risk in humans remained low.