China confirms first death from common avian influenza H3N8 strain

Bird flu virus globules under the microscope. Photo / CSIRO, Livestock Industries Australian Animal Health Laboratory, Geelong

A bird flu strain that is very rare in humans has claimed a woman’s life in China, authorities have confirmed.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the 56-year-old woman from Guangdong in China’s south was the third person to have recently been struck down with the H3N8 strain of avian influenza, with all three cases occurring in China.

However, the other two cases, which were detected in 2022, eventually recovered.

It is believed the strain does not spread between humans, but instead, can pass from infected animals to people who come in contact with them.

The WHO confirmed the woman had fallen ill on February 22, and had died on March 16 after being hospitalised with “severe pneumonia” on March 3.

The woman had “multiple underlying conditions”, a “history of exposure to live poultry” and a “history of wild bird presence around her home”.

“Since avian influenza viruses continue to be detected in poultry populations, further sporadic human cases are expected in the future,” the World Health Organisation says. Photo / NZME

However, no close contacts of the patient went on to develop symptoms.

Investigations reveal she likely caught the illness after visiting a wet market, with traces of avian influenza later found in samples collected from the site.

Influenza infections that have spread from animals to humans can cause a range of symptoms, from none at all, to mild and severe enough to kill.

Symptoms include conjunctivitis or mild flu-like symptoms to severe acute respiratory disease, while gastrointestinal or neurological symptoms are possible but rare.

“Based on available information, it appears that this virus does not have the ability to spread easily from person to person, and therefore the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low,” the WHO said.

“However, due to the constantly evolving nature of influenza viruses, WHO stresses the importance of global surveillance to detect virological, epidemiological and clinical changes associated with circulating influenza viruses which may affect human (or animal) health.”

While the three Chinese cases involved the H3N8 strain and not the H5N1 virus that has killed millions of birds around the world recently, the WHO warned it was important to keep an eye on the situation given the ability of avian influenza viruses to evolve and spark pandemics.

“Since avian influenza viruses continue to be detected in poultry populations, further sporadic human cases are expected in the future,” the WHO added.

“To better understand the current risk to public health, more information is needed from both human and animal investigation.”

The cases are of particular concern given the world is only just starting to recover from the devastating Covid pandemic, which many scientists believe started in a wet market in Wuhan in China.

Members of a World Health Organisation team visit the Hubei Animal Disease Control and Prevention Center. Photo / AP

Deadly virus spreading across the planet

The woman’s death comes at the same time as the largest ever bird flu outbreak – caused by the deadly H5N1 strain – is rapidly moving across the planet, after already spreading to hundreds of mammals and killing hundreds of millions of birds worldwide.

It has already been detected in species across Asia, Europe, North and South America and Africa, and in February, an 11-year-old Cambodian girl died from the illness, becoming the nation’s first bird flu fatality in many years.

Despite the tragedy, the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the time stressed that the risk to humans was low – however, it noted it was “worried” about the current outbreak, while some scientists have also publicly expressed concerns that it could start jumping more rapidly from mammals to humans.

Egg prices are rising globally. Photo / NZME

The virus is devastating the poultry industry in nations around the world, with Japan recently making headlines after running out of room to bury the more than 17 million chickens culled due to bird flu this season.

The outbreak has affected the supply of poultry and sent the price of eggs skyrocketing, in both Japan and elsewhere across the globe.