Cambodia reports H5N1 bird flu in 9-month-old girl; 5th case this year

Cambodia has reported a new human case of H5N1 bird flu in a 9-month-old girl, according to health officials. It marks the country’s fifth confirmed case this year.

Cambodia’s National Institute of Public Health announced on Saturday that the patient is a 9-month-old girl from Preaek Ta Kong village in Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. She has been hospitalized and is receiving intensive care.

Health officials are investigating the source of the girl’s infection and working to determine whether there are infected animals in her community.

Officials are collecting samples from people who had contact with the patient, while close contacts are being given Tamiflu as a precaution under Cambodia’s standard response protocol for H5N1 cases.

This is the fifth 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 was reported in April in Svay Rieng province, near the border with Vietnam, and involved a 66-year-old woman who was hospitalized in intensive care. Her outcome is unknown.

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.