Monitoring Desk
GENEVA: The World Health Organization expressed concern about spreading bird flu on Friday after the father of 11-year-old Cambodian girl who lost her life from the disease also tested positive, raising worries of human-to-human transmission.
Since late 2021, one of the severe global avian influenza outbreaks on record has witnessed tens of millions of poultry culled along with mass wild bird die-offs and an increasing number of infections among mammals.
According to the officials from the health ministry, in Cambodia, the young girl fell ill on 16 of this month with cough, sore throat and fever died last Wednesday from the H5N1 bird flu virus.
Authorities then collected samples from 12 person who had been in contact with her.
On Friday, the authorities further said 49-year-old father of the girl had tested positive, adding that he was asymptomatic.
The health body said it was in close contact with the Cambodian authorities about the prevailing situation, including results of the girl’s other contacts.
Usually humans rarely get bird flu, however, when it happens, usually it occurs from coming in direct contact with infected birds.
Investigators in Cambodia are working to establish if the girl and her father were exposed to the infected birds.
WHO concern about spreading Bird Flu
Meanwhile, Pandemic preparedness and prevention Director, Sylvie Briand told a virtual press conference that it was too early to know if it was human-to-human transmission or results of the same environmental conditions.
Earlier this month, Chief of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remarked that the risk of bird flu to humans was low, and Briand emphasized that this assessment had not changed.
However, the UN agency was reviewing the available information to examine if this risk assessment requires to be updated, she added.
In Case bird flu transmission is confirmed to have taken place between humans, the health body said a series of measures would be put in place fairly quickly.
For example, the WHO said about 20 H5 bird flu vaccines are licensed for pandemic usage.
But Richard Webby, head of the WHO’s center for studying influenza in animals, said that it might take about six months to update and introduce such a vaccine for the currently circulating strain of H5N1.
Earlier this week, the WHO’s incoming chief scientist Jeremy Farrar emphasized on governments across the world to focus on investment in H5N1 vaccines in preparation for a potential outbreak in humans.
As per WHO there have been about 900 confirmed H5N1 cases in humans, with over 450 deaths in last two decades.
Briand said that a nine-year-old girl in Ecuador contracted bird flu in January has “recovered and is out of the hospital” and is on antiviral medication.
