A Woman died in China from H3N8 bird flua virus that has been circulating since 2002, but which until now had not caused human victims, reported Tuesday the World Health Organization (WHO).
He H3N8 viruswhich first appeared in North America, was until now considered susceptible to transmission to horses, dogs and sea lions.
It was detected in humans in China twice, in April and May 2022, but without being fatal.
The 56-year-old deceased person lived in the Chinese province of Guangdong (southeast) and fell ill on February 22. On March 3, she was hospitalized with severe pneumonia and passed away on March 16, according to the WHO.
The patient had multiple underlying conditions and a history of exposure to live poultry prior to illness onset and a history of wild birds around her home, the organization said in a statement.
“None” of his close contacts developed “infection or symptoms of the disease at the time of writing this report,” the United Nations agency added.
The WHO stated that the contagion could be due to frequenting a bird marketbut that “the exact source of the infection has yet to be determined, as well as the relationship between this virus and the other avian influenza type A (H3N8) circulating in the animal environment.”
The organization stressed that the available data show that the virus is not transmitted between humans and that, therefore, “the risk of its spread on a national, regional and global scale is considered low.”
The WHO, however, insisted on the need to monitor the virus due to its continuous mutations.
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