In China’s eastern province of Jiangsu, a 41-year-old man has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, said China’s National Health Commission (NHC) on Tuesday.
China has identified the presence of multiple strains of avian influenza within its borders, some of which sporadically infect individuals, particularly those involved in poultry-related occupations. However, it is noteworthy that there have been no significant outbreaks of bird flu in humans since the H7N9 strain, which resulted in approximately 300 fatalities
The NHC said in a statement that the man, a resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms.
Various Avian Influenza Strains in China, Limited Human Infections
He was diagnosed with the H10N3 avian influenza virus on May 28 but no details were given on how the man had been infected with the virus. The NHC further added, H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, the strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low.
However, the medical observation of his close contacts had not found any other cases and the man was stable and was ready to be discharged from the hospital.
Avian Influenza Strains in China and Limited Human Infections
It has been found that many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry. Though there have been no significant numbers of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017.
No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally, the NHC said.
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