A woman has died in China from the H3N8 bird flu, a virus that has been circulating since 2002, but has so far caused no human casualties, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday. The H3N8 virus, which first appeared in North America, until now was considered likely to be transmitted between horses, dogs and sea lions.
The virus has been detected in humans in China on two occasions – in April and May 2022 – but without causing deaths. The now-known fatality, 56, lived in the southeastern Chinese province of Guangdong, and fell ill on February 22. On March 3, she was hospitalized with severe pneumonia and died on March 16, according to the WHO.
“The patient had multiple underlying conditions, a history of exposure to live poultry prior to illness onset, and a history of wild birds around her home. None of her close contacts had developed infection or symptoms of illness at the time of writing. this article. this report,” the WHO wrote.
In addition, the WHO said the contamination may have occurred because the woman attended a poultry market, but “the exact source of the infection, as well as the relationship between this virus and other type A avian influenzas, has yet to be determined.” H3N8) circulating in an animal environment. The available data shows that the virus is not transmitted between humans and, therefore, “the risk of its spread, nationally and globally, is considered low.”
The WHO insisted, however, on the need to monitor the virus due to the continuous mutations.
Source: TSF
