The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the death of a woman infected with the H3N8 variant of bird flu in China. The 56-year-old from Guangdong province died after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia on March 3, WHO said in its latest flu report. This is the first victim for the H3N8 variantWHO has so far confirmed three cases of human infection with influenza A/H3N8 virus, the other two subsequently recovered.
The woman had been infected on 22 February and her case was identified thanks to the Sars surveillance system. WHO reports that the patient suffered from multiple underlying diseases and had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, but – assured the UN organization – none of her close contacts developed an infection or symptoms of the disease at the time of notification.
The H3N8 viruses are a different subtype of the influenza A virus and are not related to the H5N1 viruses currently spreading among wild birds and poultry around the world.