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People participate in an emergency H7N9 bird flu virus prevention and control exercise organized by the local government’s Health and Family Planning Commission in Hebi, Henan Province, China. Photo/REUTERS
BEIJING – A woman died of H3N8 bird flu in China. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Tuesday (11/4/2023) that the case was the first known human death from a strain of bird flu.
H3N8 has been known to be circulating since 2002 after it first appeared in North American waterfowl. The virus is known to infect horses, dogs and seals.
The virus had not been detected in humans before the two previous non-fatal cases appeared, both also in China, in April and May last year.
The woman who died was 56 years old from Guangdong province in southeast China.
He fell ill on February 22, was hospitalized with severe pneumonia on March 3 and died on March 16, according to WHO.
“The patient had several underlying conditions. He had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of the presence of wild birds around his home,” the UN health agency said.
“None of the close contacts of the cases developed infection or symptoms of disease at the time of reporting,” the WHO said.
According to the WHO, while market exposure to live poultry may have caused infection, “it is still unclear what the exact source of this infection is and how this virus is related to other avian influenza A (H3N8) viruses circulating in animals.”
WHO calls for further investigation in animals and humans.
