No human-to-human bird flu transmission found in Cambodia: officials

Cambodian health authorities have said there was no human-to-human transmission of bird flu in the case of a father and daughter who caught the virus.

The 11-year-old girl died last Wednesday and her father tested positive two days later, prompting the World Health Organization to voice concern about possible transmission between humans.

One of the worst global outbreaks of avian influenza has been raging since late 2021, with tens of thousands of poultry culled, wild birds dying in large numbers and infections among some mammals rising.

Cambodia’s Communicable Disease Control Department (CDC) said late Tuesday that the 49-year-old father, who had no symptoms, had recovered and been discharged from hospital.

“An investigation shows that both of them contracted (the virus) from birds in the village. No transmission between father and daughter has been found,” the CDC said.

Humans rarely contract bird flu, but when they do, it is usually from direct contact with infected birds.

Over the past two decades, there have been nearly 900 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans and more than 450 deaths, according to the WHO.