WHO: Avian influenza spread limited but worrying

Health experts during the disinfection of the village where the girl who died of the virus lived. A.B

A senior WHO official reacted to the death of an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia who had avian influenza, saying the recent global spread of the virus and human infection was limited but worrying.

Dr Sylvie Briand, director of WHO's Department of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said the UN agency was in close contact with Cambodian authorities to understand more about the outbreak.

Speaking ahead of a meeting in Geneva on flu vaccines, she said the global situation with regard to the virus was worrying given the widespread spread of the virus in birds around the world and increasing reports of cases in mammals, including humans.

"The World Health Organization takes the risks of this virus very seriously and urges increased vigilance from all countries."

Independent experts have expressed concern about the bird flu wave that has spread to much of the world since late 2021, posing a potential risk to public health.

The Cambodian girl, from a village in the southeastern province of Pre Feng, died last Wednesday in a hospital in the capital Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed her case for avian influenza AH5N1, according to Cambodia's health ministry.

The girl fell ill on February 16, and when her condition deteriorated, she was transferred to the hospital suffering from a fever accompanied by cough and pain in the throat, and health authorities said that the girl's father contracted the virus but did not show any significant symptoms.