Cambodian man gets bird flu, first case since 2007

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A 19-year-old Cambodian who ate dead poultry has been confirmed with H5N1 bird flu, the country's first human case in more than 18 months, the World Health Organization (WHO) and government said on Friday.

The man, the eighth person in Cambodia to have contracted bird flu since its first case in 2005, was in a stable condition in the capital's Calmette hospital, Sok Touch, head of the Health Ministry's Communicable Diseases department, said in a statement.

The patient, who came from the province of Kandal, about 50 km (30 miles) south of Phnom Penh, fell ill on November 28 but was only confirmed as having bird flu on Thursday, the joint Health Ministry-WHO statement said.

All seven of Cambodia's previous cases have died.

Since H5N1 resurfaced in Asia in 2003 it has killed more than 200 people in a dozen countries, according to the WHO.

Experts fear the constantly mutating H5N1 virus could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and potentially kill millions worldwide.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Jerry Norton)