First person dies of H3N8 bird in China – after case was not reported for a MONTH

A Chinese woman is the first person ever to die from the H3N8 strain of bird flu.

The 56-year-old, from Guangdong province, first fell ill on February 22 and was hospitalized on March 3 with severe pneumonia. She died 13 days later March 16.

She is only the third person ever to be officially diagnosed with H3N8, one of the most common strains in birds but poorly adapted to infect humans.

Two young boys were struck by the same virus in China in unlinked cases in April and May last year, but both survived.

The WHO was not informed of the matter until March 27 — a month after Chinese health officials learned of the infection. China has previously faced criticism for failing to make available key information about the spread of Covid in its country.

It comes as vaccine makers have said they are “ready” for a human avian flu pandemic, while fears of a zoonotic spillover are mounting.

The Chinese patient had several underlying conditions and a history of exposure to live birds before becoming ill, as well as previous presence of wild birds around her home.

She is believed to have contracted the virus at a wet market where she spent some time before falling ill, after samples taken from the market tested positive for influenza A (H3).

So far, none of the woman’s close contacts have symptoms of infection.

The case was picked up through the World Health Organization’s Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI) Surveillance System, 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.

Like other strains of bird flu, human infections can occur when 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 believed to be similar to other avian flu in humans.

Common symptoms include fever, fatigue, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms.

Sufferers may experience diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain, chest pain and bleeding from the nose and gums, and pink eye.

The WHO said: ‘As bird flu viruses continue to be detected in poultry populations, more sporadic human cases are expected in the future.’

China’s slow reporting of this infection draws parallels to the country’s initial response to the Covid pandemic.

The country has been accused of covering up early cases and has failed 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 any country should, but China has occasional bird flu cases every year.

“The (much) bigger problem is China’s persistent practice of selling birds and other animals for food in 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 case comes from a live animal market. The [WHO] report is vague on that question.’

In 2003, China was accused of covering up details about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The Chinese government was criticized for its slowness in releasing information about the outbreak after a Beijing hospital was closed.

This case is part of a spate of human avian flu cases that emerged in early 2023.

Earlier this year, a Cambodian man and his daughter were diagnosed with H5N1, another strain of bird flu.

Their cases sparked international concern, with many experts fearing citing the virus had mutated to better infect humans after ripping through the world’s bird population.

The bird flu outbreak, which began early last year, is the largest in history, affecting more than 200 million domestic birds worldwide, in addition to countless wild birds.

It has already been leaked onto mammals such as minks, foxes, raccoons and bears, raising fears that it may soon develop troubling new mutations that could cause it to cause a human pandemic.

Further testing revealed that the H5N1 strain was not spreading rapidly among the world’s wild birds among the Cambodian family, but instead a variant known to spread locally in the Prey Veng province in which they lived.

People who have close or prolonged unprotected contact (not wearing respiratory and eye protection) with infected birds or places where sick birds or their mucus, saliva, or faeces are contaminated may be at greater risk of infection with the avian flu virus.

It is unlikely that a human will contract the virus from eating poultry and fowl, as it is heat sensitive and cooking the poultry properly will kill the virus.

An infected bird may appear lethargic, stop eating, have swollen body parts, and cough and sneeze. Other birds may die suddenly without any symptoms.

The symptoms in humans are high fever (often above 30°C), cough, sore throat, muscle aches and a general feeling of malaise.

Additional early symptoms may include abdominal and chest pain and diarrhea.

It can quickly develop into a serious respiratory illness, including shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and pneumonia.

People can also suffer from altered mental status or seizures.