An 11-year-old woman from Cambodia has died from fowl flu, well being officers have mentioned, the primary individual within the nation to die from the an infection since 2014.
The woman was from the agricultural province of Prey Veng, in south-eastern Cambodia, and have become sick on 16 February.
She went to hospital within the capital, Phnom Penh, the place she was recognized on Wednesday with the flu after struggling a fever, coughing and throat ache, earlier than dying shortly after, the well being ministry mentioned.
Local officers have taken samples from lifeless birds at a conservation space close to the woman’s dwelling, with groups within the area warning residents about touching lifeless and sick birds.
Avian influenza normally spreads via poultry, and was not deemed to be a menace to people till a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, with most circumstances in individuals involving direct contact with contaminated birds.
However, there have been fears that the virus might have developed to unfold extra simply between individuals.
Mam Bunheng, Cambodia’s well being minister, mentioned that fowl flu poses a specific menace to kids, who could also be amassing eggs from home poultry or taking part in with birds and cleansing their cages.
Symptoms of the flu, recognized formally as H5N1, are much like these of different flus, and embody a cough, aches and fever, and in some circumstances, trigger life-threatening pneumonia.
Between 2003 and 2014, Cambodia had 56 circumstances of H5N1, 37 of which have been deadly, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In whole, 870 individuals worldwide have been contaminated, and 457 deaths have been reported in 21 nations.
But within the final seven years, the tempo has slowed, with solely round 170 infections and 50 deaths.
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WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus just lately specific concern about fowl flu in mammals, warning: “H5N1 has spread widely in wild birds and poultry for 25 years, but the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely.”
He added the WHO nonetheless assesses the danger of fowl flu in people as low.
“But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo,” he mentioned.
He suggested individuals to not contact lifeless or sick wild animals, and for nations to strengthen their surveillance of settings the place individuals and animals work together.
Source: information.sky.com”