Last week, an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died from H5N1. Her father also initially tested positive for the virus with consistent symptoms and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital. Subsequent testing of 16 close contacts and another 13 with symptoms consistent with an influenza-like illness all returned negative, including a second test from the girl’s father. Officials are investigating how the girl and her father were exposed to the virus—whether from an infected bird or human-to-human transmission.
Cambodian officials have reported that sequencing of the virus from the girl’s father is consistent with a variant of the virus known to be endemic in the country (Asian clade 2.3.2.1c H5N1) and the cause of sporadic cases in previous decades. This is different than the clade currently circulating globally (Eurasian clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1).
Read the full Situation Report from the National Special Pathogen Training and Education Center (NETEC) online here.