Human case of H10N8 bird flu strain
Print Edition
China’s first human case of H10N8, a strain of bird flu, is an isolated incident and there is no evidence it can spread between people, health authorities in eastern Jiangxi Province said yesterday.
A 73-year-old Jiangxi woman, who died of respiratory failure on December 6, was confirmed to have been carrying the virus by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, health officials said.
However, doctors and the public should be on alert, said Dr Lu Hongzhou, director of a flu experts group in Shanghai.
Shanghai has been monitoring avian flu and the local experts group is highly alert to the human infection with H10N8, Lu said.
The H10N8 strain was found in water in the Dongting Lake wetland in 2007 and live duck samples in Guangdong Province in 2012.
The virus has been detected in birds since 1965 in at least seven countries, including China, the World Health Organization said in a statement.
While this is the first case of the virus spreading to humans, it seems the virus has existed in Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces for a while and has the ability to infect mammals, Lu said.
“Currently residents needn’t be anxious, but it is important to avoid contact with live poultry,” he said.
The Jiangxi woman, who had been in hospital in the provincial capital of Nanchang since she was admitted on November 30, was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, along with her existing problems of high blood pressure, a neuromuscular disorder and heart disease.
She visited a live bird market four days before she became ill and all her close contacts are undergoing medical observation without showing flu-like symptoms so far, officials said.
The specific source of the woman’s infection was not known, the WHO said, although both wild birds and poultry are known to carry the virus.
Chinese authorities were investigating the case of H10N8 and had stepped up surveillance measures to detect and control infections.
Winter is the peak season for flu and experts have warned there could be a recurrence of H7N9, which emerged in the Chinese mainland in March.
South China’s Guangdong Province yesterday reported a new H7N9 case, its third since Sunday, bringing the province’s total number of cases to five.
The latest patient is a 62-year-old man living in Yangjiang City who is in a serious condition.
A 65-year-old woman from the city was reported with the infection on Monday and a 39-year-old man working in Dongguan City was confirmed with the virus on Sunday. Both are seriously ill.
Guangdong has warned the public about the virus after it was found in its live poultry markets and disease surveillance and inspection have been tightened throughout the province.
By Monday, the mainland had reported 142 human infections of the deadly bird flu virus with 46 deaths since March. Earlier this month, Hong Kong confirmed its first two H7N9 cases.
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