An 11-year-old boy in Cambodia died from bird flu, the country’s fourth victim of four confirmed cases of the infection this year, the Health Ministry announced Wednesday.
The ministry issued a statement saying laboratory tests from the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia confirmed the boy, who lived in a village in the western province of Kampong Speu, died Tuesday of H5N1 avian influenza, as the infection is formally called.
An investigation found there were several chickens and ducks near the boy’s house that had been sick and dying for a week before the child started feeling ill, the ministry said.
“Despite the care and rescue efforts of the medical team, the child died on May 2, 2025, dying at the hospital after arrival in a very serious condition, including fever, cough, shortness of breath and severe difficulty breathing,” the ministry said.
A Health Ministry emergency response team has been working with local authorities to investigate the source of the village’s bird flu outbreak and respond with the appropriate technical protocols to prevent further transmission to others in the community, the statement said.