Jakarta –
China has again identified a new case of transmission of bird flu to humans, a total of two cases. The location of the two exposed patients is relatively far, which is around 800 miles.
The government is concerned that recently the spread of the bird flu virus could trigger human-to-human transmission and risk triggering a new pandemic. The first case is a 53-year-old woman from China’s Jiangsu province, who tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu last month.
Meanwhile, according to Chinese health officials, the second case was reported in a 49-year-old man in China’s Guangdong province. Unlike the first case, he tested positive for H5N6 after coming into contact with poultry.
So far, no evidence has been found that the two cases are related and have the possibility of spreading from human to human. The Cambodian case, which some time ago had sparked concern, is also confirmed to have no potential for such transmission.
As is known, cases in Cambodia originated from poultry, namely H5N1 clade 2.3.2.1c, an old variant that is endemic to wild birds and poultry in that country.
Symptoms Experienced
The female patient in China started experiencing symptoms after eating chicken on January 31 and tested positive for H5N1 around February, according to the BNO news agency. The current state of the patient was not announced officially by health officials.
One thing is certain, the results of genome sequencing in China revealed that the case was caused by H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, the avian flu strain that is currently attacking poultry populations globally and has infected many birds and mammals since 2021.
The clade is a further ‘subdivision’ of the influenza virus within the strain.
In the second case, a man in southern China’s Guangdong province tested positive for H5N6. The Hong Kong health department and center for health protection (CHP) announced yesterday that the man contracted the flu after coming into contact with live birds.
He developed symptoms on December 17 last year and was admitted to hospital four days later in serious condition. A total of 83 human cases of bird flu have been reported by Chinese health authorities since 2014.
Local authorities urged people to avoid visiting wet markets and farms. H5N6 is one of the six main hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes of avian influenza viruses that infect humans and cause acute respiratory illness.
H5N6 infection is often severe or fatal. The virus is known to circulate in poultry in several Asian countries. Globally, only China and Laos have human cases.
In 2020, H5N6 caused the death of 1,840 of 2,497 birds on poultry farms in Sichuan province in China. The fact that these few human cases have all occurred within a matter of weeks is perhaps a worrying sign.
It comes as experts warned yesterday that the Cambodian case provides evidence of a possible mutation in the virus.
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Watch Video “Bird Flu Cases Detected in Humans in Cambodia“
(naf/kna)
