PHNOM PENH: Cambodian health authorities have said there was no human-to-human transmission of bird flu in the case of a father and daughter who caught the virus.
The 11-year-old girl died last Wednesday and her father tested positive two days later, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to voice concern about possible transmission between humans.
One of the worst global oubreaks of avian influenza has been raging since late 2021, with tens of thousands of poultry culled, wild birds dying in large numbers and infections among some mammals rising.
Cambodia's Communicable Disease Control Department (CDC) said late Tuesday that the 49-year-old father, who had no symptoms, had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
"An investigation shows that both of them contracted (the virus) from birds in the village. No transmission between father and daughter has been found," the CDC said.
Humans rarely contract bird flu, but when they do, it is usually from direct contact with infected birds.
In February, the WHO called for vigilance after the detection of bird flu in mammals. The WHO recorded 457 deaths out of 870 infected cases from 2003 to 2014.
Dead ducks are hung at a farm in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. (Photo: Reuters)