China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu
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BEIJING • China has recorded its first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, but the risk of its spread among people is low, the health authority said.
The variant was found in a four-year-old boy from the central province of Henan, who showed fever and other symptoms on April 5, the National Health Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.
The child had been in contact with chickens and crows raised at his home, it added.
The H3N8 variant is common in horses and dogs.
Whole genome sequence analyses indicate that the H3N8 virus in this human case is a reassortant, with genes from viruses detected previously in poultry and wild birds, said influenza expert Nicola Lewis from the Royal Veterinary College in Britain.
The virus warrants expanded surveillance, said Dr Erik Karlsson, deputy head of the virology unit at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia. Its implication in the 1889 influenza pandemic, known as the Russian flu, was "a major concern for the risk of the virus", he added.
China's huge populations of farmed and wild birds provide an ideal environment for avian viruses to mix and mutate. Some sporadically infect people, usually those who work with poultry.
Last year, China reported the first human case of H10N3.
The health commission said an initial study showed the variant did not yet have the ability to effectively infect humans, and the risk of a large-scale epidemic was low.
REUTERS
