Overview

• Laboratory tests by the Pasteur Institute on May 27 confirmed the boy from Srey Sampoung village in Kampong Speu province had H5N1 avian influenza.
• Local reports indicate chickens and ducks near the boy’s home became sick and died about a week before he developed fever, cough and severe breathing difficulties.
• The Health Ministry has deployed teams to investigate the outbreak, screen all contacts and distribute the antiviral Tamiflu in affected communities.
• All four confirmed H5N1 cases in Cambodia this year involved individuals with recent exposure to sick or dead poultry, highlighting the primary transmission route.
• Since 2003, Cambodia has recorded 76 human H5N1 infections resulting in 47 deaths, and the World Health Organization has reported a resurgence in cases after 2022.