Six-year-old dies of bird flu in Cambodia: WHO

PHNOM PENH - A six-year-old Cambodian girl has become the eighth person to die from bird flu in the country this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday.

The child, from eastern Kampong Cham province, died on August 14 after contracting H5N1 avian influenza, the health ministry and WHO said in a joint statement.

“The girl is the 18th person in Cambodia to become infected with the H5N1 virus and the 16th to die from complications of the disease,” since 2005 they said, adding that she had been in contact with sick or dead poultry before falling ill.

All eight of Cambodia’s bird flu cases since January have been fatal. Seven of the victims were children.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has killed 331 people worldwide since 2003, the statement said.