Should we be worried about it? China claims to have detected a first case of H3N8 avian flu in humans, but health authorities want to be reassuring. The risk of transmission between humans is low, they assure. The Covid-19 epidemic that started in Wuhan, China, which has obsessed the Asian power for more than two years, seems not to be comparable to this first case of avian flu. We summarize, however, the precautions to take in the face of this infection, which occurred several weeks ago.
- How is the virus transmitted?
China’s health ministry said on Tuesday (April 26th) that a 4-year-old boy, living in central China’s Henan province, tested positive for the H3N8 strain after being hospitalized in early April for contracting several symptoms and fever. This H3N8 strain is known by research and health control institutions to infect horses, dogs and seals, but is much less so in the context of contamination between humans.
The boy was infected by birds carrying the flu, but his relatives were not diagnosed with the disease, the health ministry said. Members of the patient’s family, a chicken farmer, live in an area populated by wild ducks. In view of these elements and the additional tests carried out, the health authorities believe that the boy’s case is the result of “punctual interspecies transmission”.
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- What precaution should be taken?
It is not recommended to approach dead birds, the transmission being from the animal to the man. In the event of fever or respiratory symptoms, the Ministry of Health invites sufferers to contact a doctor for a consultation. One of the main security measures to stem the disease consists in maintaining respect for barrier gestures (regular hand washing, wearing a mask), recalls the Pasteur Institute. To stem a hypothetical spread in France, the first control measure would be to remove all avian reservoirs likely to contribute to the spread of the epidemic, as was the case preventively in March in the Pays de la Loire, where nearly 10 million animals were euthanized.
- Is it dangerous for humans?
Cases of bird flu transmission between humans are extremely rare. The H5N1 and H7N9 strains have been the main cause of human cases of bird flu, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They were discovered respectively in 1997 and 2013. Minus the H3N8 strain, the source of the contamination of the young boy. According to an American study published in 2012, the H3N8 strain mainly caused fatal pneumonia in more than 160 seals.
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“The risk of large-scale transmission is low,” insist the Chinese authorities. The European authorities did not react to the official Chinese announcement, a symbol of their serenity in the face of this first case of avian flu. The cough of your office colleague is therefore for the time being more a sign of a good cold or contamination with Covid-19 than of avian flu.
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