In circulation since 2002, this virus was detected for the first time in humans in April and May 2022. The WHO assures that the risk of spread remains “low”.
A woman has died in China from H3N8 avian flu, a virus that has been circulating since 2002 and has so far had no known human victims, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The H3N8 virus, which first appeared on the North American continent, was until now considered capable of being transmitted to horses, dogs and sea lions.
It had not been detected in humans until the first two non-fatal cases in China in April and May 2022.
severe pneumonia
The deceased is a 56-year-old resident of Guangdong Province in southeast China.
She fell ill on February 22, was hospitalized with severe pneumonia on March 3 and died on March 16, according to the WHO.
“The patient had multiple predispositions. She had a history of exposure to live poultry before illness onset, and a history of wild birds around her home,” the organization said in a statement.
“None of the close contacts of this case had developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of writing this report,” the WHO said.
The trail of a live bird market
Visiting a live bird market might have caused this contamination, but “the exact source of this infection remains to be determined, as well as the link between this virus and the other type A (H3N8) avian influenzas circulating in the environment. animal,” said the WHO, calling for research on the issue.
The organization stressed that the available data showed that this virus is not transmitted between humans and that, therefore, “the risk of its spread at the national, regional and global level is considered to be low”.
The WHO, however, stressed the need for constant monitoring due to the permanent mutations of the viruses.
