Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?
Nguyen, Q., Taylor-Robinson, A. (2023). Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?. EKB Journal Management System, 4(3), 773-776. doi: 10.21608/mid.2023.204080.1501
Quan Khoi Nguyen; Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson. "Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?". EKB Journal Management System, 4, 3, 2023, 773-776. doi: 10.21608/mid.2023.204080.1501
Nguyen, Q., Taylor-Robinson, A. (2023). 'Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?', EKB Journal Management System, 4(3), pp. 773-776. doi: 10.21608/mid.2023.204080.1501
Nguyen, Q., Taylor-Robinson, A. Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?. EKB Journal Management System, 2023; 4(3): 773-776. doi: 10.21608/mid.2023.204080.1501

Two linked clinical cases of avian influenza in Cambodia: what threat to public health in southeast Asia does this pose?

Microbes and Infectious Diseases
Article 11, Volume 4, Issue 3, August 2023, Page 773-776  XML PDF (681.83 K)
Document Type: Editorials
DOI: 10.21608/mid.2023.204080.1501
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Authors
Quan Khoi Nguyenorcid 1; Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson email orcid 2
1VinUniversity, College of Health Sciences, Gia Lam District, Hanoi 100000 Vietnam
2College of Health Sciences, VinUniversity, Gia Lam District, Hanoi, Vietnam Center for Global Health, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Abstract
Summary:

• There is much uncertainty in predicting the next major incidence of influenza A
• The source of recent clinical cases of A/H5N1 in Cambodia are unknown
• A/H5N1 is highly virulent in farmed poultry and can crossover to infect humans
• Human-to-human transmission would pose a significant public health threat
• Regional pandemic preparedness in Southeast Asia is required to mitigate this risk

Conclusion: Highly pathogenic avian influenza A (HPAI H5N1), more commonly known as bird flu – is, as the name suggests – primarily a disease that affects birds, yet it can also infect mammals, including humans. HPAI is a persistent public health threat as a leading cause of severe respiratory disease. While the source of infection of the A/H5N1 isolate that caused the death of a child in Cambodia may never be determined unequivocally, this emergency event should sound a warning of what may be to come. With the virtue of hindsight, in all but a handful of countries the real time surveillance and early detection system in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic for control of community transmission was grossly inadequate and need of major overhaul. Striking a positive note, those hard-learnt lessons are now helping to ensure better outbreak preparedness and threat mitigation for a virulent strain of bird flu should it spread to, and between, humans.
Keywords
Avian influenza; H1N1; outbreak; pandemic preparedness; Cambodia
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