Cambodia’s health ministry today reported a seventh human H5N1 avian flu case for the month of June, a 36-year-old woman from the same province as the last three cases, part of an ongoing rise in illnesses with several linked to a new reassortant.

The new confirmation lifts the country’s total to 11 cases so far this year, of which 7 were reported in June. Like the most recently reported cases, the woman is from Siem Reap province in the central part of the country, according to a health ministry Facebook announcement translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog. 

Officials, however, said she lives in a different village than the most recent three cases, a woman and her teenaged son and their neighbor, a 41-year-old woman. The woman’s village is nearly two miles from the village where the other patients live.

The latest patient is currently receiving treatment in an intensive care unit. An investigation found that she had sick and dead chickens at her home and had touched and buried them. Similar poultry contact has been noted for most Cambodian patients, among whom the infections are often severe or fatal.

More details on yet-announced earlier case

Cambodia said 11 cases have been reported this year, but only 10 have apparently been publicly announced. A few more details surfaced today about the unannounced case, which appears to be a 19-month-old boy from Takeo province who died from his infection, according to a line list in a weekly avian flu update from Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP). The group said the case was reported on June 30.

Also, a weekly avian flu update from the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific region office said the boy’s infection was one of two from Takeo province for the week ending June 26 and that his illness onset date was June 7.

• The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today announced that it has launched a new series of weekly updates on mosquito-borne illnesses and has published guidance on locally acquired Aedes-borne diseases in Europe. The number of locally acquired dengue infections has been increasing over the past few years, with West Nile virus infections reported from 19 countries, which the ECDC said reflects the growing geographic spread and public health impact of the diseases. Aedes albopictus is established in 369 regions of Europe, up from 114 regions a decade ago. So far this year, France has reported six outbreaks of locally acquired chikungunya on the mainland with illness onsets in May and June, which the ECDC said is an unusually early start to the season, an example of how changing environmental conditions are leading to longer and more favorable transmission periods.
• After suspending livestock imports at the southern border in May as part of the response to the rapid northward spread of New World screwworm (NWS), the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday announced a phased reopening, following extensive collaboration between the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its counterparts in Mexico on surveillance, detection, and eradication. NWS can lead to cattle loss and sporadic infections in people. The phased reopening applies to cattle, bison, and equines and will begin in southern ports starting in Douglas, Arizona.