Cambodia reports 2nd human H5N1 case this year

Cambodia has reported a new human case of H5N1 bird flu in a woman, the country’s second confirmed case so far this year.

Cambodia’s National Institute of Public Health confirmed the case on Saturday in a 45-year-old woman from Ropai Village in Banteay Meanchey Province, near the Thailand border. She was hospitalized and is under close medical care.

The woman told health officials she raised chickens and ducks and had handled some that died. Officials also said there were reports of dead chickens and ducks in the village.

Officials are collecting samples from individuals who had contact with the patient. Close contacts are being treated with Tamiflu as a precaution, which is standard protocol in Cambodia following H5N1 detections.

This is the second human case of H5N1 bird flu reported in Cambodia so far in 2026. The country confirmed 19 human cases in 2025, eight of which were fatal.

The previous case this year was reported in Kampot Province, near the Vietnam border, in a man who had cooked a dead chicken and was later released from the hospital.

It is not yet known which strain was involved in the latest case, though it is likely clade 2.3.2.1c, a variant that is endemic in the country. Another strain, clade 2.3.4.4b, has gained international attention since 2022 due to its global spread and increasing number of infections in mammals, including humans.