Phnom Penh, Jan 10 (IANS): A 28-year-old man from southeast Cambodia's Kampong Cham province died of H5N1 human avian influenza on Friday, becoming the first death in 2025, the Ministry of Health said in a press statement.

"Laboratory results from the National Institute of Public Health showed on January 9, 2025 that the man was positive for H5N1 virus," the statement said.

"Although our team of doctors had provided him intensive care, the patient died on January 10, 2025 due to his severe condition, with the symptoms of fever, cough, and dyspnea," it added.

The patient lived in village 22 in Chamkar Leu district's Chamkar Andoung commune, Xinhua news agency reported.

"According to queries, the patient raised and fed chicken, and he cooked sick chicken for food," the statement said.

Health authorities are looking into the source of the infection and are examining any suspected cases or people who have been in contact with the victim in order to prevent an outbreak in the community, it added.

H5N1 influenza is a flu that normally spreads between sick poultry, but it can sometimes spread from poultry to humans, and its symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and severe respiratory illness.

The Ministry of Health called on people to be extra vigilant and not to eat ill or dead poultry, saying that bird flu still poses a threat to people's health.

From 2003 to date, there were 73 cases of human infection with H5N1 influenza, including 44 deaths in the Southeast Asian country, according to the ministry.