Cambodia says recent bird flu cases not spread by humans

PHNOM PENH: Recent cases of bird flu discovered in two Cambodian villagers, one of them fatal, show no sign of human-to-human transmission, health officials in the Southeast Asian nation say, allaying fears of a public health crisis. An 11-year-old Cambodian girl from a village in the southeastern province of Prey Veng died on Feb 22 at a hospital in the capital, Phnom Penh, shortly after tests confirmed she had Type A H5N1 bird flu.

Her father tested positive for the virus the day after her death, but showed no strong symptoms and was released Tuesday from a Prey Veng hospital where he had been kept isolated, the health ministry said. He was sent home after three negative tests. The two were the only villagers among more than two dozen tested who were found to carry the virus, the ministry said in a statement.

Bird flu, also known as avian influenza, normally spreads among poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans. The recent detection of infections in a variety of mammals has raised concern among experts that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a pandemic.

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