According to the Ministry of Health, a 15-year-old girl in Cambodia has died from the effects of the H5N1 bird flu. This is the tenth human case in the country this year.

The teenager from Prey Veng province fell ill after touching dead chickens that the family used to cook food. The chickens, like many others, had recently died in the village.

“Despite the care and assistance of the medical team, the girl died on August 20 due to the serious condition of the patient, who suffered from fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath and fainting,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

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

It was not initially known which strain it was, but it is believed to be the older variant 2.3.2.1c, which is endemic in the Asian country. However, no cases in humans were reported between 2014 and 2023. Since then, 16 cases have been identified, 10 of them this year.

“While the reasons for this sudden resurgence after nine years remain a mystery, a 2023 study found that rural populations’ attitudes toward bird flu are very lax,” said Michael Coston of the Avian Flu Diary.

“While Cambodia continues to do an admirable job of reporting these hospital cases, it is quite possible that some milder infections are not being reported,” he said. “Severe or critical cases are far more likely to be hospitalized, tested and confirmed as H5N1 positive.”

A newer strain of H5N1, clade 2.3.4.4b, is of concern due to its global distribution and increasing number of cases in mammals, including an outbreak among dairy cows in the United States. To date, only a limited number of cases have been reported in humans following contact with infected birds or cows.