Chile has detected its first case of bird flu in humans, the Ministry of Health of this country announced on Wednesday, Reuters reports on Thursday.
The case was detected in a 53-year-old man who complained of severe flu symptoms, according to a statement issued by the ministry stating that the patient’s condition was stable.
The government is conducting an investigation to determine the source of the infection as well as possible other people who came into contact with the patient.
Chile has reported cases of H5N1 bird flu in wildlife since late last year.
Recent cases detected in factory farms have led the government to stop the export of poultry from farms.
Health authorities in Chile have noted that the virus can be transmitted from birds or marine mammals to humans, but have not recorded any human-to-human transmission.
Earlier this year, Ecuador confirmed its first case of human transmission of bird flu, in a 9-year-old girl.
Global health officials have said the risk of human-to-human transmission is low, but vaccine makers are preparing sera against human cases of bird flu “just in case”.
