A woman in China has become the world’s first known human fatality from H3N8 bird flu, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
The strain has been circulating since 2002 and is known to infect horses, dogs and seals, as well as birds.
It had not been known to infect humans until two-non fatal cases emerged in China in April and May last year.
In a statement, the WHO said the virus could not easily spread to humans and the “risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low.”
The deceased woman, a 56-year-old female from Guangdong province, died on March 16, having been hospitalised with pneumonia on March 3.
“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,” said the WHO.
“No close contacts of the case developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of reporting.”
Tests were taken at the patient’s home and the wet market where she spent time beforehand, with the latter testing positive for influenza A(H3). China reported the case to the WHO on March 27.
Investigators believe exposure to a live poultry market may have caused the infection, but said it was “still unclear what the exact source of this infection is and how this virus is related to other avian influenza A(H3N8) viruses that are circulating in animals.”
The WHO said of the two previous known human infections, one became severely ill and the other was mildly ill.
It added that “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.”
Most human infections with avian influenza viruses are due to exposure to infected poultry or contaminated environments.
Infections can result in disease ranging from conjunctivitis or mild flu-like symptoms, to severe acute respiratory disease or even death.
