Appeal for Hong Kong to screen for bird flu variant after Guangdong woman’s death linked to H3N8 strain
- Experts say H3N8 bird flu variant is rarely fatal, does not spread easily and there is no need for public alarm
- Concerns raised after woman, 56, who had serious health problems, dies after infection with H3N8 bird flu
Hong Kong should step up screening for a bird flu strain in poultry after the death of a woman was linked to the virus in neighbouring Guangdong province, city experts have said.
But they highlighted on Thursday that the public should not be alarmed as the H3N8 variant of bird flu did not spread easily among humans and, even if infected, the disease was not fatal in most people.
Professor Leo Poon Lit-man, of the University of Hong Kong’s school of public health, said H3N8 was common in poultry, but did not have a high fatality rate among birds either.
“We could do a risk assessment to conduct a surveillance on whether there is H3N8 in Hong Kong. I think this is necessary,” Poon said, adding that it could be done through a one-off screening among Hong Kong birds.
“If more people in mainland China are infected with H3N8, we might need to consider whether regular testing is needed.”
Concerns were raised after the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday reported that a 56-year-old woman from Guangdong infected with the virus, who had multiple health problems, had died on March 16.
The woman, who suffered from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that affects the immune system, lived in Zhongshan, a city about 86km (53 miles) from Hong Kong.
The WHO said the woman’s exposure to the virus might have come from a live poultry market, but the exact cause had yet to be pinpointed.
“Her immune system had problems and so she could not keep this viral infection under control,” Poon said. “People in general are unlikely to display severe symptoms or die after getting infected.”
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He said the H3N8 strain was identified in some Hong Kong poultry last year but had gone a few months later.
Poon added that, as the virus strain did not generally cause severe illness or death among animals or humans, the importation of live poultry from the mainland would probably not be affected.
Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, chairman of the Centre for Health Protection’s scientific committee on emerging and zoonotic diseases, said the government should also step up testing for H3N8 in dead birds.
“The government should conduct tests on dead wild birds to look for the reasons for their death,” Hui said. “The public should also avoid contact with wild birds.”
Hui added that as poultry might not show symptoms after H3N8 infection tests should also be run on dead birds from farms.
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Two young mainland boys, aged four and five, were last year reported to have been infected with H3N8 after exposure to poultry, but recovered.
Poon said, in comparison, the fatality rate for H5N1, a more dangerous bird flu strain, was about 60 to 70 per cent in humans. He added the death rate for the H7N9 variant was about 30 per cent.
Hui noted that as H3N8 did not have the ability to easily spread from person to person a bird flu outbreak was unlikely.
The WHO on Tuesday said the risk of the virus “spreading among humans at the national, regional and international levels is considered to be low”.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said it had a comprehensive bird flu surveillance system which included the detection of H3N8. It also conducted regular testing of samples, including from local poultry and dead wild birds.
The Department of Health said it would remain vigilant and work closely with the WHO and relevant health authorities to monitor the latest developments.
