First H3N8 Bird Flu Human Death in China Recorded, WHO Confirms

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the bird flu's N3H8 strain recorded its first-ever human death in China.

The Geneva-based organization says that a Chinese woman is the first person to have died from the said strain of the avian flu that has been recorded. Although the N3H8 strain is commonly found among birds, it rarely infects humans.

First H3N8 Bird Flu Human Death Recorded in China

As per a report by the Straits Times, the H3N8 bird flu strain is not new at all. It has been infecting the avian population for more than two decades already. It reportedly started emerging in North American waterfowl way back in 2002.

Besides wreaking havoc on birds, it has also been detected in various mammals, such as dogs, seals, and horses. However, it only made it to humans in recent times, specifically in April last year.

The first-ever H3N8 strain case in humans was also from China, as well as the second recorded infection on a person, recorded in May 2022.

And now, the third case ended up as a tragic incident. The avian flu strain killed a 56-year-old woman in China's Guangdong province last March 16. The WHO reports that she started experiencing symptoms of the viral infection last February 22. And after a couple of days, or on March 3, to be exact, the patient had to go to the hospital due to severe pneumonia.

While the first human death was recorded on March 16, the Daily Mail reports that the authorities in China only told the WHO last March 27. So it took the health official of the Asian nation more than a month before it made the Geneva-based organization aware of the infection.

The UN health agency disclosed in a statement that the bird flu patient had been exposed to live poultry before contracting the virus. On top of that, wild birds are also in the vicinity of her residence. But it is worth noting that she had "multiple underlying conditions" before her infection.

Bird lu — Officials wearing masks and protective suits pile dead chickens into black plastic bags in Hong Kong on January 28, 2014. Hong Kong began a mass cull of 20,000 chickens on January 28 after the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus was discovered in poultry imported from mainland China, authorities said. PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Bird Flu Human Infection is Still Low Risk

The WHO says, "This virus cannot spread easily from person to person." That said, the organization ensures that "the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered low."

But despite that, the Geneva-based org still cautioned that influenza viruses naturally evolve. Things might change eventually.

As such, the WHO adds that the "global surveillance to detect virological, epidemiological, and clinical changes associated with circulating influenza viruses which may affect human (or animal) health" remains essential.