WHO confirms 1st human death from H3N8 bird flu in China

By Beyza Binnur Donmez and Riyaz ul Khaliq

GENEVA / ISTANBUL (AA) - A 56-year-old woman died from H3N8 bird flu in China, the World Health Organization said, in the first known human fatality from the avian influenza strain.

The woman with multiple myeloma and other basic medical history was found infected with the H3N8 avian influenza virus, according to Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (GPCDCP).

The patient had an “onset of illness” since Feb. 22, 2023, according to the WHO.

“She was hospitalized for severe pneumonia on 3 March 2023 and subsequently died on 16 March 2023,” the WHO said on Tuesday.

The case was reported on March 26 by local health authorities in Zhongshan city, home to around 4.4 million people, and China's National Health Commission subsequently notified the WHO of the confirmed case of human infection with an avian influenza A (H3N8) virus on March 27.

WHO noted the risk of the avian influenza virus spreading at national or international levels was "low."

"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," according to the world health body.

However, it emphasized the significance of global surveillance to detect virological, epidemiological, and clinical changes associated with circulating influenza viruses that may harm human or animal health due to the continually evolving nature of influenza viruses.

This was the third reported case of human infection in China, according to the WHO.

The woman "had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of wild bird activities around her home,” said the GPCDCP.