Child dies of H5N1 bird flu in India, marking country’s 2nd death from the virus

A 2-year-old girl has died due to H5N1 avian influenza in India, according to health officials. This is the second death reported in the country since the virus emerged.

The child, from Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district, was admitted to hospital on March 4 with symptoms including fever, difficulty breathing, nasal discharge, seizures, diarrhea, and reduced appetite. Despite intensive medical treatment, she died on March 16, according to a statement by the region’s health department on Wednesday.

Health officials said the child had had consumed raw meat just two days before symptoms began. A throat swab collected on March 7 initially tested positive for Influenza A, and subsequent testing by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) formally alerted state authorities on March 31 after the virus was confirmed. The Andhra Pradesh Health Department has since launched active surveillance in the affected area. As of Thursday, no additional cases have been identified, though surveillance will continue for two weeks.

The case coincides with a major avian influenza outbreak in Andhra Pradesh, where more than 540,000 birds have died or been culled since January. The virus has affected both commercial poultry farms and backyard flocks.

This marks the second confirmed human death from H5N1 in India, following the country’s first fatal case in 2021, when an 11-year-old boy died after being transferred to New Delhi for treatment.

LINK: A list of all human cases of H5N1 bird flu since 2021

The new case in India comes amid a rise in global H5N1 infections reported since 2022, following the emergence of a newer viral clade. So far in 2025, four human cases have been confirmed worldwide—all of them fatal. Three of those occurred in Cambodia and were linked to older strains of the virus.

The specific variant involved in the India case has not yet been publicly disclosed, but older clades such as 2.3.2.1c and 2.3.2.1a continue to circulate in parts of Asia.

The newer clade, 2.3.4.4b, is currently spreading widely among birds and mammals and has raised international concern due to its increasing detection in humans and its role in recent outbreaks among dairy cattle and other mammals.