China has reported that a woman died from H3N8 bird flu according to the World Health Organization.
This is the first known human fatality from the avian strain. The H3N8 has started circulating since 2002 and first emerged from North America. The virus was previously known for infecting horses, dogs and seals.
The first two cases detected in humans were also recorded in China last year.
The woman who died from the virus was 56 years-old and was from Guangdong province. She fell ill last February 22 and was hospitalized for severe pneumonia.
“The patient had multiple underlying conditions. She had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of wild bird presence around her home,” the WHO said.
“No close contacts of the case developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of reporting,” the UN health agency added in a statement.
The WHO also said it is still unclear on what could be the source of infection and how it is related to avian influenza A(H3N8) viruses that’s already circulating to animals.
“It appears that this virus does not have the ability to spread easily from person to person, and therefore the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low,” the WHO said.
“However, due to the constantly evolving nature of influenza viruses, WHO stresses the importance of global surveillance to detect virological, epidemiological and clinical changes associated with circulating influenza viruses which may affect humans,” it added.
