• Home
• /
• World

China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu

The infected child had been in contact with chickens and crows raised at his home

---

---

China has recorded the first human infection of the H3N8 strain of bird flu in Henan province, media reports said on Tuesday.

China’s National Health Commission (NHC) announced the case in a statement but said the risk of it spreading among people was low.

A four-year-old boy was found to have been infected with the virus after developing several symptoms, including fever.

According to NHC, no close contacts were infected with the virus.

The child had been in contact with chickens and crows raised at his home, it added.

The health commission said the H3N8 variant has previously been detected around in the world in horses, dogs, birds and seals. However, it added that no human cases of H3N8 have been reported.

ALSO READ:

• US considers vaccines to protect poultry from deadly bird flu

• Bird flu discovered at Dutch farm; 216,000 chickens to be culled

• Bird flu scare in India: 25,000 chickens to be culled near Mumbai

• Rare avian flu case in humans discovered in Britain

An initial assessment determined the variant did not yet have the ability to effectively infect humans, and the risk of a large-scale epidemic was low, it added.

• World
• Asia