Orange with 6Medias, published on Monday, February 27, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
The father of an 11-year-old girl who died in Cambodia following being infected with H5N1 avian flu has also tested positive for the virus. A possible human-to-human transmission worries the authorities, reports Midi Libre, Sunday February 26.
On Wednesday February 22, an 11-year-old girl died in Cambodia following contracting bird flu.
Two days later, his father was also infected with the H5N1 virus, but showed no symptoms, according to the country’s ministry. His case is at the heart of all the concerns of scientists, indicate our colleagues from Free lunchSunday, February 26.
For the moment, examples of human beings contaminated with H5N1 are extremely rare, with 868 confirmed cases over the past twenty years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The death of the 11-year-old girl is also the first recorded linked to this animal disease in Cambodia since 2014. She fell ill on February 16, the girl had a fever, cough and dry throat, according to the government health monitoring agency.
Positive cases detected in other mammals
If it turns out in the next few days that it was the little girl who infected her father, then the question of the transmission of the H5N1 virus between humans will be relaunched. The health authorities must soon carry out tests in order to identify “sources of infection”. The 49-year-old father is closely monitored by doctors.
At the beginning of February, the WHO already warned of the risk of transmission of avian flu to mammals. As our colleagues from Parisian report, positive cases of the virus had notably been detected in otters, foxes and even sea lions.
