Chinese woman dies of H3N8, marking first known human fatality from bird flu strain
- World Health Organization confirms death of 56-year-old patient in southern China
- The health agency stresses likelihood of human-to-human spread remains low
WHO reported that the 56-year-old woman in China’s southern Guangdong province died on March 16.
The provincial health body published a report on March 27 confirming the woman had been infected but did not mention that she had died.
The woman, a resident of the city of Zhongshan, fell ill on February 22 and was hospitalised for severe pneumonia on March 3, according to a statement from WHO.
It added that the patient had multiple underlying conditions and a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease.
China reports a third human case of the H3N8 strain of bird flu
According to the report issued by the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the patient suffered from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that affects the immune system.
It also confirmed none of the woman’s close contacts had developed infections or symptoms, but did not mention whether anyone who had been exposed to the wet market or the woman’s residence had become infected.
The WHO noted that the likelihood of human-to-human spread of H3N8 was low.
“The available epidemiological and virological information suggests that avian influenza A (H3N8) viruses do not have the capacity for sustained transmission among humans,” it said.
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Of the two cases last year, one became critically ill, while the other had mild symptoms. All three patients had been exposed to infected poultry.
The H3N8 strain of bird flu can infect a wide range of hosts. It has been detected in poultry, horses, dogs, pigs and seals.
The previous two human cases in China were found to be typical “spillover infections”, according to a study by China Agricultural University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China CDC published in The Lancet last year.
Their research suggested the virus did not yet have the ability to sustain human-to-human transmission.
