China recorded the first death bird flu in the world. This is the first human victim of the disease caused by the virus detected in 2002, which mainly affects birds. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) urged governments to “monitor” the virus mutations, the possibility of a spread in humans on a global scale is not anticipated.
He virus H3N8 It first appeared in North America and has so far been transmitted to horses, dogs, and sea lions. However, it was detected in humans in China twice, in April and May 2022, but without being fatal until this Tuesday.
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The case triggered epidemiological alarms in different countries, including Chile, where a 53-year-old patient with “serious influenza” was also registered due to the spread of the bird flu virus. In addition, it adds to the case of the eleven-year-old girl from Cambodia who died in February.
The case of the first bird flu death in China
The case was registered in Guangdong province, in southeast China. The woman was 56 years old and had contracted the disease on February 22. Because of the lung infection, she had to be hospitalized and she died on March 16 after being diagnosed with a “severe pneumonia“, reported the WHO.
“The patient had multiple underlying conditions” y “history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease and a history of the presence of wild birds around their home,” the UN health agency said.
In a statement, the WHO put a cold cloth on the matter by clarifying that “none” of the close contacts of the victim developed “infection or symptoms of the disease until the time of writing this report”, thus ruling out the possibility that the virus could be contagious between humans.
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Regarding the contagion, the agency indicated that it may be due to frequenting a bird market, but that “the exact source of the infection has yet to be determined, as well as the relationship between this virus and other type A avian flu ( H3N8) circulating in the animal environment”.
In this sense, he stressed that, based on the available data, the risk of the spread of the virus on a national, regional and global scale “is considered scarce“. However, he insisted on the need to “monitor the virus” in line with its continuous mutations.
bird flu outbreak
In February 2023, the WHO warned about the risk of transmission of avian influenza to mammals, after the detection of infections in foxes, otters and sea lions in different parts of the world.
The disease reached Latin America through migratory birds, causing mortality in wild birds but also in sea lions. Added to this is the spread of the outbreak in poultry and poultry for family consumption, which caused millions in losses for the livestock sector due to the killing of birds required by the authorities to control the health situation.
Although there are few examples of infected humans, the WHO urged governments to monitor mutations of the virus that has 868 confirmed cases of H5N1 in the last 20 years and 457 deaths.
cd / ds
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