Cambodia Reports 7th Bird Flu Victim for 2013

Cambodia has reported a total of seven bird flu cases since the beginning of the year and two patients are in critical condition, reports say. 

According to a Xinhua news report, the total of victims infected with the virulent H5N1 virus is now up to seven for the year. So far, five of the seven cases reported this year have ended in death. The World Health Organization (WHO) says has killed 360 other people worldwide since surfacing in 2003.

The report says the latest victim is a 4-year-old girl from Angkor Phnom Touch commune, Angkor Chey district of Southwestern Kampot province. The girl has survived the infection and is currently hospitalized in stable condition in a Phnom Penh hospital. So far, most human cases have been linked to contact with infected poultry. 

Cambodia is experiencing the worst outbreak of the virus this year since the disease was first identified in Jan. 2004.  The country has reported 21 cases and 19 of them fatal have ended in deaths since 2005, according to theAssociated Press.

WHO spokesman in Cambodia, Sonny Krishnan, says they are only able to detect the H5N1 virus once a human is infected with it and not when birds start dying from it.

"Surveillance is supposed to be from poultry deaths, but it's always a human death. Then when you go to investigate, you find that ducks or chickens have been dying. It's the reverse of how it should be," he said.