The Chinese National Health Commission has confirmed the first known case of human infection of the H3N8 strain of bird flu. The strain has been circulating since 2002, carried by North American waterfowl and infectious especially for horses, dogs and seals, but according to the Commission, the risk of transmission between people is low.
Longform
Avian, an epidemic that is killing millions of animals
by Davide Michielin
The first case appears to involve a four-year-old boy from central Henan province who was hospitalized in early April due to fever and other symptoms. The context in which he lives is rural, with chickens in the house and wild ducks in the surroundings, but no other family member has been infected with the virus to date.
The child was probably directly infected with the birds
Avian influenza strains H5N1 and H7N9, detected in 1997 and 2013 respectively, were the cause of the majority of human disease cases due to avian influenza.
How do you get infected
According to the World Health Organization, human zoonotic influenza infections mostly come from direct contact with infected animals or environments, but transmission of the virus between people is difficult.
In China, there are several strains of bird flu that infect humans sporadically. The latest in chronological order occurred last year with the first known case of H10N3 infection.
Outbreak of avian flu in Rome. The expert: “There is no risk of infection for humans”
by Fiammetta Cupellaro
In early January, the United Kingdom (UK) Health Safety Agency announced that an extremely “rare” case of avian flu has been identified in a person in South West England. Subject had been in close contact with diseased birds, no suspicion of human-to-human transmission.
The most common symptoms
Some of the common symptoms seen in people who get bird flu are fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, and shortness of breath. It must be identified and treated immediately to avoid more serious complications.
Virus, the alarm of the researchers on the avian H5n8: “It could cause a pandemic”
The most recent alarms
In an article published a year ago in Science, Chinese researchers Weifeng Shi del Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences di Jìnan e George Fu Gao of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have raised the alarm on the global health risks represented by another strain, H5N8, urging health institutions to carry out greater surveillance on outbreaks,