Cambodia's CDC Assures No Human-to-Human Bird Flu Transmission After Father, Daughter Caught the H5N1 Virus

There were some health concerns in Cambodia about bird flu transmission after it was learned that a father and daughter contracted the H5N1 virus. However, Cambodia's Communicable Disease Control Department (CDC) assured the public that there was no human-to-human transmission.

No Human-to-Human Bird Flu Transmission in Cambodia

An 11-year-old girl passed away Wednesday due to bird flu. Two days later, her father tested positive, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to voice concern about the possible human-to-human transmission, Phys.org reported.

One of the world's worst global avian influenza outbreaks has been raging since 2021. Tens of thousands of poultry were culled, and wild birds were infected and died. The disease doesn't spread from human to human and doesn't infect people easily. However, several had already contracted avian influenza.

Cambodia's Communicable Disease Control Department (CDC) announced Tuesday that the girl's 49-year-old father had shown no symptoms and had already recovered and been discharged from the hospital.

CDC added that their investigation showed the father and daughter contracted the virus from birds in the village, and there was no transmission between them.

Humans rarely contract bird flu; when they do, it's usually from direct contact with infected birds.

In the past two decades, nearly 900 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans were reported, and there were over 450 deaths, according to WHO.

What Is Bird Flu: Symptoms & Prevention

According to NHS, bird flu or avian flu is an infectious type of influenza that spread among birds. It rarely affects humans. Most strains don't infect humans, but these four strains raise concerns: H5N1 (since 1997), H7N9 (since 2013), H5N6 (since 2014), and H5N8 (since 2016).

The first three don't infect people easily and spread from human to human. However, several have been infected worldwide, leading to several deaths.

In 2021, H5N8 infected a sfewpeople for the first time in Russia.

It could spread to humans when one touches an infected bird, touch droppings or beddings, or kill or prepares infected poultry for cooking.

Here are some of the symptoms of bird flu:

• Fever
• Aching muscles
• Headache
• Cough or shortness of breath
• Diarrhea
• Sickness
• Stomach pain
• Chest pain
• Bleeding from the nose and gums
• Conjunctivitis

The symptoms could appear in 3 to 5 days after being infected.

To prevent bird flu amid the outbreak, it is recommended that you:

• Wash your hands often with warm water and soap, especially before and after handling food
• Use different utensils for cooked and raw meat
• Make sure meat is cooked until steaming hot
• Avoid contact with live birds and poultry
• Avoid going near or touching bird droppings or sick/dead birds
• Avoid live animal markets or poultry farms
• Avoid transporting live birds or poultry, including feathers
• Skip undercooked or raw poultry or duck
• Skip raw eggs

Check out more news and information on Bird Flu in Science Times.