A Chinese woman who became the first person to die from H3N8 bird flu is believed to have contracted the deadly strain at a wet market.
The 56-year-old from Guangdong province first fell ill on February 22 and was hospitalized with severe pneumonia on March 3.
She died 13 days later March 16.
But officials know she contracted the virus at a wet market, where she spent some time before becoming ill after samples from the market tested positive for influenza A (H3).
She is only the third person to be officially diagnosed with H3N8, one of the most common strains found in birds but not suitable for infecting humans.
The woman is believed to have contracted the virus at a wet market, where she spent some time before becoming ill after samples taken from the market tested positive for influenza A (H3).
The woman from Guangdong province first fell ill on February 22. She was admitted to hospital with severe pneumonia on 3 March and died on 16 March.
So far, none of the woman’s close contacts have shown symptoms of infection.
The WHO was only informed about the case on March 27 – a month after Chinese health officials learned of the infection.
China has previously been criticized for failing to provide important information about the spread of Covid in its country.
It comes as vaccine makers have said they are “prepared” for a human bird flu pandemic amid fears of zoonotic spread.
The Chinese patient had several underlying medical conditions and a history of contact with live birds before becoming ill and previous presence of wild birds in the vicinity of her home.
Read more: Free-range eggs could be back in supermarkets next week after five months as government finally lifts bird flu lockdown.
The case was picked up by the World Health Organization’s surveillance system for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), which tracks these types of infections.
The H3N8 variant is common in birds, horses and dogs, and has even been found in seals, but has rarely found its way into the human population.
Two boys contracted the same virus in unrelated cases in China in April and May last year, but both survived.
As with other strains of bird flu, human infection can occur if enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled.
Although there are only a limited number of known cases of this strain worldwide, the disease is thought to be similar to other types of bird flu in humans.
Common symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea and other flu-like symptoms.
Those affected may experience diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, chest pain, and bleeding from the nose and gums, as well as conjunctivitis.
The WHO said: “As avian influenza viruses continue to be detected in poultry populations, further sporadic human cases are expected in the future.”
China’s slow reporting of this infection draws parallels with the country’s initial response to the Covid pandemic.
The country has been accused of covering up early cases and failing to keep up with the fight against the origins of the virus.
Dr. Steven Salzberg, a professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, told DailyMail.com: “Of course, China should report such cases immediately, as every country should, but China has occasional cases of bird flu every year.
“The (much) bigger problem is China’s continued practice of selling birds and other animals for food at live animal markets. Scientists have been saying for years (decades now) that China should close these markets, but they won’t.
“So a good question is whether this matter came from a live animal market. The [WHO] Report is vague on this issue.’
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In 2003, China was accused of covering up details about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The Chinese government has been criticized for its slowness to release information about the outbreak after a Beijing hospital was closed.
This case is part of a wave of human bird flu cases that surfaced in early 2023.
Earlier this year, a Cambodian man and his daughter were diagnosed with H5N1, another type of bird flu.
Their cases sparked international concern, as many experts feared the virus had mutated to better infect humans after entering the world’s bird population.
The bird flu outbreak that began early last year is the largest in history, affecting more than 200 million domestic birds, in addition to countless wild birds worldwide.
Cambodian girl, 11, dies of H5N1 bird flu, becoming first victim in 2023
Eleven-year-old Bean Narong died on February 22 after contracting type A HN51 in the impoverished village of Rolaing in southeastern Prey Veng province, becoming the first victim of bird flu in 2023.
It has already made its way into mammals such as mink, foxes, raccoons and bears, raising fears that it could soon acquire disturbing new mutations that could lead to a human pandemic.
Further testing revealed that the H5N1 strain did not spread rapidly among wild birds of the Cambodian family, but rather a variant known to spread locally in Prey Veng province, where they lived .
There has been only one case of a Briton contracting H5N1 since the outbreak began in October 2021.
Alan Gosling, a retired engineer in Devon, contracted the virus in early 2022 after his ducks, some of which lived at his home, became infected.
No one else is known to have contracted the virus.
People who have close or prolonged unprotected contact – without respiratory and eye protection – with infected birds, or places where sick birds or their mucus, saliva or droppings are contaminated, may be at increased risk for bird flu virus infection.
It is unlikely that one will contract the virus by eating chickens and chickens, as they are sensitive to heat and cooking the chicken correctly kills the virus.
Symptoms in humans include high fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches and a general malaise.
Additional early symptoms may include abdominal and chest pain and diarrhea.
It can quickly progress to a serious respiratory condition, including shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and pneumonia.
People may also suffer from an altered mental status or seizures.
In the UK, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, a division of DEFRA, assesses the human risk of bird flu on a weekly basis.
The group is also reviewing possible human vaccine candidates if the virus spreads to humans.
The UKHSA has currently set the threat level at level three because there is “evidence” of changes in the virus genome that could cause “mammalian infection”.
Any “permanent” transmission of the pathogen from mammal to mammal would raise the threat level to four, while from human to human it would increase to five.
The UKHSA also confirmed last month that it had updated its modeling scenarios of how an outbreak could start among people in the UK.
An R-value – a measure of the ability of a virus to spread – between 1.2 and 2 was assumed for all scenarios.
This means that every 10 people infected will transmit the virus to 12 to 20 others, and the outbreak will double every three to 11 days.
Scientists estimate that in a worst-case scenario, one in 20 people who contract bird flu will die from the virus.
An infected bird may appear lethargic, stop eating, have swollen body parts and may cough and sneeze. Other birds may die suddenly without symptoms.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
