Toddler is Cambodia's 7th bird flu death this year

(AP)—A 20-month-old boy has become Cambodia's seventh bird flu fatality this year, as authorities warn the virus remains a serious health threat, especially to children.

Cambodia's Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said Thursday the boy came from a village in southern Kampot province where there was evidence of recent poultry deaths. He was the eighth Cambodian this year to test positive for the disease and the seventh to die.

Bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, normally spreads among poultry, but can sometimes be transmitted from poultry to humans. There were 32 cases reported worldwide last year of which 20 were fatal. The only other cases reported this year outside Cambodia are two non-fatal cases in China, and one fatal case in Egypt.

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