A two-year-old girl has become the 12th person to die of bird flu in Cambodia this year.

Cambodia's Health Ministry and the World Health Organization said in a joint statement Monday that the girl died from the H5N1 bird flu virus on October 26 after suffering from fever, difficulty in breathing and lethargy.

The statement said an investigation at the girl's village in western Pursat province revealed that two months before her illness, poultry had died suddenly at her grandparents' house, where she often stayed.

The H5N1 virus normally spreads between poultry but can sometimes spread from poultry to humans.
The number of deaths from bird flu in Cambodia this year is the highest since the disease surfaced in 2003.