According to the press release from the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of national or international spread of the H3N8 avian flu is “low” despite the first death recorded in China.
The victim who died on March 16
The Avian Flu H3N8 made its first human victim in Chine. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) statement on Tuesday April 11, the virus has been circulating in the country since 2002, but this is the first time a death has been reported. Aged 56, the deceased was a resident of Guangdong province, in the southeast of the country. She was admitted to hospital on March 3 for severe pneumonia after having been ill since February 22. His death was confirmed on March 16, according to the WHO.
A history of exposure to live poultry
According to the WHO press release relayed by Ouest France, “the patient had multiple predispositions. She had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of the presence of wild birds around her home”. However, none of the victim’s close contacts were showing symptoms or an infection at the time of writing. Despite this first death linked to the avian flu H3N8the risk of national or international spread is “weak”underlined the UN organization.
Appearing for the first time on the North American continent, the virus H3N8 was considered until now to be capable of being transmitted to horses, dogs and sea lions. The only cases detected in humans date back to April and May 2022, but they were not fatal.
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