China records first-ever death from H3N8 bird flu

China has recorded the world’s first death from the H3N8 strain of bird flu.

Bird flu is a condition caused by an influenza virus which is generally observed among wild aquatic birds. It can also infect domestic poultry, other birds, and animals. Bird flu infections in humans, though possible, is rare.

There are many strains of bird flu, one of which is the H3N8 strain.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in a statement on Tuesday, said on March 27, it was notified by China’s health commission of one confirmed case of human infection with the H3N8 bird flu virus. 

The patient was a 56-year-old female from Guangdong province with an onset of illness on February 22. 

She was hospitalised for severe pneumonia on March 3 and died on March 16.

The WHO said the case is the third reported case of human infection with the H3N8 virus with all three cases been reported from China.

The organisation added that the patient had multiple underlying conditions, 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 case was detected through the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance system. No close contacts of the case developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of reporting. Environmental samples were collected from the patient’s residence and the wet market where the patient spent time before the onset of illness. The results of testing showed that the samples collected from the wet market were positive for influenza A(H3),” the WHO said.

“Based on available information, 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.

“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 human (or animal) health.”