Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- In the last two months , eight people in Cambodia have died from bird flu , a rare but deadly disease causing concern among health authorities . Six of the victims have been children . The H5N1 virus , known to be highly contagious to poultry , typically resembles the flu when contracted by humans . But it kills more than half the people it infects , according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Of the nine confirmed H5N1 cases in Cambodia this year , only an 8-month old infant has survived . The infant had received medical attention early , said Dr. Ly Sovann , the Ministry of Health 's deputy director for communicable diseases control in Cambodia . The eight bird flu deaths in the last six weeks -- considering that Cambodia has had 19 reported deaths from the disease in the last 10 years -- has sparked increased surveillance efforts . Health officials are warning people to wash their hands often , to keep children away from poultry and to avoid eating sick poultry . So far , the nine cases are not believed to be related , although most of them came from the southern region . Bird flu research resumes , but not in U.S . The eight H5N1 deaths in Cambodia occurred with a 15-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man on January 21 , and a 2-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl on January 28 . In the next month , a 5-year-old died on Feburary 7 , a 3-year-old girl died on February 13 , a 2-year-old boy died on February 19 , followed by a death of a 35-year-old man on Monday . He came from the Kampong Cham province in central Cambodia and died after developing fever , coughing and difficulty breathing earlier this month . The patients experienced symptoms such as coughing , fever , difficulty breathing , sleepiness and vomiting . Bird flu does not usually pass from person-to-person , but the disease is closely monitored because of concerns that the H5N1 virus could mutate allowing to spread more easily among people . `` We conducted investigations and found that all the cases were transmission from the poultry , '' said Sovann . `` There is no evidence of transmission from human to human at this stage . '' All nine patients are believed to have been exposed to sick or dead poultry , according to health authroties . H5N1 typically spreads between birds , but can jump to humans , especially if they 're living in close proximity . The greatest risk of exposure to the virus is through the handling and slaughter of infected poultry . `` Home slaughtering and preparation of sick or dead poultry for food is hazardous : this practice must stop , '' said Dr. H.E . Mam Bunheng , the Cambodian minister of health , in a statement . `` Children also seem to be most vulnerable and are at high risk because they like to play where poultry are found . I urge parents and guardians to keep children away from sick or dead poultry and prevent them from playing with chickens and ducks . '' Health teams are carrying out `` enhanced surveillance '' in the villages and communities where bird flu cases have been reported , according to the World Health Organization . Officials are also telling people with flu-like symptoms who have difficulty breathing to seek medical attention immediately . The disease is transmitted through the infected bird 's saliva , nasal secretions or feces . It can spread in markets or places where eggs and birds are sold in crowded conditions . The recent cases prompted China to announce temperature checks on people traveling back from Cambodia , according to the country 's General Administration of Quality Supervision , Inspection and Quarantine . China had two deaths from bird flu this year . The patients , a 31-year-old man and 21-year-old woman died in mid-February in the southwestern area of the country . Both had close contact with birds , according to Xinhua , the Chinese news agency . The only other country with a confirmed H5N1 case this year was Egypt , where a 36-year-old woman died in late January . Mexico slaughters 1.2 million chickens infected with bird flu .
Eight people , mostly children have died in Cambodia from bird flu . Cambodia has had 19 reported deaths in the last 10 years , before recent oubtreak . H5N1 is rare among humans , but potentially fatal .