Centre for Health Protection
Hong Kong's public health agency, which publishes global avian influenza statistics.
The Centre for Health Protection's global table counted 11 human H5N1 cases and two deaths in 2026 to 1 October, after Cambodia confirmed its sixth case on 27 September; the 2024 total was 81.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Centre for Health Protection
Counted 11 human cases and two deaths in 2026
Pandemics and Biosecurity: Cambodia confirms sixth human H5N1 caseBackground
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) is Hong Kong's public health agency. Its global avian influenza table compiles national reports of human H5N1 infections into one running count, which makes it a common reference for the worldwide figure.
That role matters because the main sources disagree. ECDC, the Pan American Health Organization and the Hong Kong centre each give slightly different global totals, so any headline count depends on whose table is used.
The table breaks the count down by country and year, which shows where human exposure happens. In 2026 nearly all reported cases came from backyard poultry contact in South and South-East Asia. In 2024 most came from US farm workers with mild eye infections.
Its count shows a quieter human year
The Centre for Health Protection's avian influenza table counted 11 human H5N1 cases and two deaths worldwide in 2026 to 1 October. By country, Cambodia had 6, Bangladesh 4 and India 1. That compares with 81 cases in 2024 and 30 in 2025.
A quiet human year can mean less testing as well as less virus, and the table records only what countries report. Poultry outbreaks resumed in September in France, Sweden, Bulgaria and Canada, so the northern autumn will test whether the low human figure holds. ECDC keeps a separate tally since 2003, at 1,002 cases and 478 deaths, and the two sources differ slightly.
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