Cambodia reports fifth human avian flu infection of 2025

Cambodia’s health authorities have reported the fifth human H5N1 avian flu case of 2025. The infected person is a 65-year-old woman from Takeo province who had no known contact with poultry. Her infection was confirmed by the Pasteur Institute in Cambodia last month, and she is still receiving medical treatment. Cambodia’s four earlier cases this year were all fatal. The country has been experiencing a rise in human H5N1 infections since 2023. Some have been linked to a novel reassortment between an older 2.3.2.1c clade circulating in Southeast Asia’s poultry and genes from the newer 2.3.4.4b clade spreading globally. However, it is not known what clade infected the woman. One of her neighbors owns a flock of chickens, but no deaths or illnesses were reported among the birds.