Mumbai, April 12: The first known death from a typical strain of avian flu in humans occurred when a woman came in contact with the disease. In her native Guangdong province, southeast China, the 56-year-old became unwell in February this year. The World Health Organization reports that she battled severe pneumonia for weeks before passing away on March 16.

After first appearing in North American waterfowl, H3N8 was first reported in the US in 2002. However, the first human cases were reported in April and May of last year – both in China. Bird Flu in China: First Human Case of H5N1 Influenza Reported.  

Late this month, the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced the third infection, although it made no mention of the woman's passing.

The patient had a history of exposure to live poultry as well as other underlying illnesses, according to the WHO. In China, where avian flu viruses continuously spread across vast populations of domestic poultry and wild birds, sporadic infections in people with bird flu are quite prevalent.

According to the WHO, samples taken from a wet market the woman visited before getting sick tested positive for influenza A(H3), indicating this may have been the site of infection. WHO claims that there were no more instances among the affected woman's kin.

Despite being uncommon in humans, H3N8 is frequent in birds, where it often goes undetected. Other mammals have also been afflicted by it. Bird Flu Outbreak: WHO Confirms Another Case of Avian Influenza H5N1 Virus in Chinese Woman. 

The global organisation stated in the statement that the risk of the virus spreading among humans at the national, regional, and worldwide levels is regarded as low because it does not appear to have the ability to transfer quickly from person to person.

Moreover, the capacity of all avian influenza viruses to develop and spread a pandemic makes monitoring of these viruses crucial.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2023 03:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).