WHO records 1st death from H3N8 avian flu in the world – 04/11/2023 – Health

A woman has died in China of H3N8 avian flu, a virus that has been circulating since 2002 but has so far not caused any human casualties. The announcement was made by the World Health Organization (WHO) this Tuesday (11).

The H3N8 virus, which first appeared in North America, was until now considered likely to be transmitted to horses, dogs and sea lions.

It has been detected in humans in China on two occasions, in April and May 2022, but without causing deaths.

The 56-year-old victim, who lived in the Chinese province of Guangdong, became ill on 22 February. On March 3, she was hospitalized with severe pneumonia and died on March 16, according to the WHO.

According to the entity, the patient had multiple underlying conditions and “a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease and a history of the presence of wild birds around her home”.

None of their close contacts had developed “infection or symptoms of the disease at the time of writing this report,” the UN agency added.

The WHO stated that the contamination could have occurred because she frequented a poultry market, but that “the exact source of the infection has yet to be determined, as well as the relationship between this virus and other avian influenza of type A (H3N8) that circulate in the animal environment”.

According to the organization, the available data show that the virus is not transmitted between humans and that, therefore, “the risk of its spread at national, regional and global level is considered low”.

The WHO insisted, however, on the need to monitor the virus due to its continuous mutations.