A TEENAGER girl has died after tesing postive for H5N1 bird flu, according to the World Health Organization.
The 15-year-old from Cambodia, passed away on August 20 after developing flu-like symptoms and breathing issues.
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The international health body are now warning people to take extra precautions while around birds, as cases of the bug continue to creep up.
While the virus typically only affects bird species, it can be transmitted to animals, including humans.
Fears have been raised in recent years due to the an outbreak of the new H5N1 strain, which has seen lots of animals, including cow, penguins, a polar bear, foxes and even humans.
Some 907 people have been infected with H5N1 in the past 20 years – and over half (464) of these died.
Cambodia has been among the hardest hit, with ten people contracting the bug in the last year – two of whom died.
The young girl, from the from the Prey Veng province in southern Cambodia, first developed a fever on August 11, according to local health reports.
Six days later she was rushed to hospital with a cough, sore throat and breathing issues.
Doctors diagnosed her with a severe acute respiratory infection and prescribed given antivirals to help treat it.
She died just three days later, with WHO officials claiming there were reports of “dead poultry” seen in the village five days before her symptoms developed.
The family were given chickens to cook, which the girl might have been exposed to while prepping, they said.
In a new warning issued to help keep the public safe from the escalating threat of bird flu, the WHO is urging people to avoid “high risk areas” and maintain “good hand hygiene”.
“The public should avoid contact with high-risk environments, such as live animal markets/farms and live poultry or surfaces that might be contaminated by poultry droppings,” they said.
“Additionally, maintaining good hand hygiene through frequent hand washing with soap or using alcohol-based hand sanitiser is recommended.
“The general public and at-risk individuals should immediately report instances of illness or unexpected deaths in animals to veterinary authorities.
“Handling sick or unexpectedly dead poultry including slaughtering, butchering, and preparing such poultry for consumption, should be avoided.”
Mutation fears
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There are many different bird flu strains, but the four of greatest concern are H5N1, H7N9, H5N6 and H5N8, according to the NHS.
There is still no evidence that bird flu can be transmitted between people.
However, experts fear the sheer scale of the current spread could give the virus more opportunities to mutate, enabling H5N1 to better spread and jump between in humans.
This has lead some scientists now believe the virus could be the next pandemic.
Bird flu: Could it be the next human pandemic?
By Isabel Shaw, health reporter
BIRD flu is running rampant in wildlife around the world and is now spreading in cows.
This increase in transmission has given the virus lots of opportunities to mutate – a process where a pathogen changes and can become more dangerous.
Scientists fear it’s only a matter of time before one of these mutations makes it better at spreading among mammals – and potentially humans.
Some experts believe the virus could already be spreading among some animal species.
So far, there is no evidence that H5N1 can spread between humans.
But in the hundreds of cases where humans have been infected through contact with animals over the past 20 years, the mortality rate is high.
From 2003 to 2024, 889 cases and 463 deaths caused by H5N1 have been reported worldwide from 23 countries, according to the World Health Organisation.
This puts the case fatality rate at 52 per cent.
Leading scientists have already warned an influenza is the pathogen most likely to trigger a new pandemic in the near future.
The prospect of a flu pandemic is alarming.
Although scientists have pointed out that vaccines against many strains, including H5N1, have already been developed, others are still in the pipeline.
What is the UK doing about it?
There is no human bird flu jab on the market, but the UK government is said to be drawing up plans to stockpile regular flu vaccine in case of a pandemic.
It would be the first time it has been done for the disease, regarded as a top threat for the next global health emergency.
There have been five confirmed cases of bird flu in the UK since 2022.
The risk appears higher in the far east, with two deaths in Cambodia and at least one “cluster” of cases that raised fears of human-to-human transmission.
In government guidance issued last month, Brits were advised to stay at least two meters away from wild birds because of bird flu fears.
People should avoid all contact with wild birds, which includes pigeons, swans, and seagulls, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) officials said.
