Cambodia, not the US dairy herds, is driving new human H5N1 cases; why?
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A nine-month-old girl in Phnom Penh was confirmed on 9 July as one of four new Cambodian H5N1 cases in ECDC's week 29 threats report, part of a global count that rose from 994 to 1,001 confirmed human cases between 16 February and 17 July. Cambodia contributed more than half of the period's seven new global cases, while the separate US dairy-herd outbreak recorded no new human cases in the same window.
Phnom Penh is Cambodia's capital and largest city, on the Mekong-Tonle Sap-Bassac river confluence, and the seat of the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Public Health that confirm the country's avian flu cases.
Phnom Penh has been Cambodia's capital since 1866, when King Norodom moved his court from Oudong to the river-confluence village of Krong Chaktomuk during the French protectorate era. That long-standing role as the seat of national government is why the health authorities investigating the country's H5N1 cases are based there.
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 21 July 2026. Editorial standards.