Doctor: Bird Flu Virus That Killed Girl Possibly Adapted to Human Cells

The bird flu virus isolated from an 11-year-old girl who recently died from the disease allegedly had mutations that made it adaptable to human cells, according to Sky News.

The girl had reportedly been infected by poultry kept by her family, which had been living in the Camobdian province of Prey Veng.

After leading a team at the Pasteur Institute of Cambodia in decoding the genetic sequence of the girl's virus, Dr. Erik Karlsson shared the potential ramifications of his findings with Sky News.

"There are some indications that this virus has gone through a human. Anytime these viruses get into a new host, they'll have certain changes that allow them to replicate a little bit better or potentially bind to the cells in our respiratory tract a little bit better," said Karlsson.

Also, Karlsson noted the strands of the virus have yet to fully adapt to humans. Fundamentally, it's "still a bird virus," he added.

One possible connection: The Daily Mail reports the deceased girl's father also tested positive for the bird flu virus, but has yet to show any outward symptoms.

The schoolgirl became the first global fatality of the H5N1 strand in 2023.

Karlsson speculated the new mutations were unlikely to have occurred in the young schoolgirl. Instead, the mutations existed in a "cloud" of viruses with random genetic changes inside birds.

In its current form, the H5N1 strand is unlikely to cause a "major" outbreak, according to the Daily Mail, primarily since widespread transmission would likely require a mutation that allows it to "bind to a receptor found on cells in the nose."

For example, genetic testing revealed that deceased schoolgirl had caught the 2.3.2.1c strain of H5N1, which is endemic to wild birds and poultry in Cambodia, the Daily Mail reports.

According to Karlsson, that strand differs from the 2.3.4.4b type that has spread rapidly around the world and infected many birds and mammals.

"This was zoonotic spillover [of a virus infecting a new species] and needs to be treated with the utmost concern," said Karlsson. "Something may be happening here in Cambodia and something may be happening on the other side of the world in South America, but we don't really know what could cause the problem tomorrow."

According to reports, when tracking the previous 870-plus cases of H5N1 throughout the world, the strand has a human mortality rate of approximately 50%.