Shaun
Cambodia’s health ministry yesterday reported its third human H5N1 avian flu case of the year, a 3-year-old boy, according to statement posted on the group’s Facebook page. In an updated second statement, the ministry said the boy died from his infection, according to a translation posted by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog.
Investigators discovered the family raised chickens, and five of the birds had died and others were sick. The family had cooked dead chickens for eating.
Of Cambodia’s three H5N1 cases this year, all were fatal. The most recent patient was a 2-year-old boy from Prey Veng province who had been exposed to the family’s sick chickens.
Cambodia experienced a dramatic uptick in human H5N1 cases at the end of 2023. Some have involved a novel reassortant that combines genes from an older 2.3.2.1c clade known to circulate in Southeast Asia with internal genes from the newer 2.3.4.4b clade that has spread globally. The older clade still circulates in Cambodian poultry, with sporadic infection reported in people.
The White House has signaled that it will nominate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acting director Susan Monarez, PhD, to lead the agency, reported today, citing sources familiar with the decision. A Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) official also confirmed that Monarez will be nominated.
Her nomination follows the White House withdrawal of its original nominee, David Weldon, MD, after it became clear that he didn’t have the votes to clear Senate confirmation.
A seasoned administrator and expert in new technologyMonarez was named as acting CDC director in January, following the change in presidential administration. She previously served as deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health within the HHS. She has also held several other roles in government, including with the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Security Council, both within the executive branch.
Her work has included strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance and she has led projects to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve health outcomes.
CBS reported that others reportedly considered for the nomination were Michael Burgess, MD, a former Texas congressman, and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, MD.
Her nomination comes as the CDC grapples with a large measles outbreak, continued H5N1 avian flu circulation in animals with occasional jumps to people, staffing cuts, and other uncertainties due changing Trump administration priorities.
