A woman in eastern China tested positive for H5N1 bird flu. This bird flu has spread all over the world, worrying experts. The news comes just a week after she contracted two similar variants in Cambodia.
According to WHO, the latest case is a 53-year-old woman from Jiangsu province in eastern China. She developed symptoms on 31 January after being exposed to her poultry. Details about her condition have not been made public.
Last week, an 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died from H5N1 bird flu after her ducks and chickens suddenly died. Her father, her 49-year-old man, tested positive a few days later but did not become seriously ill.
Genetic sequencing performed in China showed that the new case was caused by clade 2.3.4.4b. This is the same variant that has spread around the world and raised concerns about its potential threat to human health. This is in contrast to Cambodian cases caused by an older variant, clade 2.3.2.1c.
No other details about the new case have been released.
A new variant of H5N1 that emerged in late 2021 has caused pandemics around the world, even in countries where bird flu has never been detected. Since then, more than 200 million birds have died or been killed, mostly in Europe and America.
The global spread of bird flu has raised concerns about the possibility of future variants that could lead to human-to-human transmission. Added to the concern.
“The global situation of H5N1 is alarming given the spread of the virus in birds around the world and the increasing number of case reports in mammals, including humans,” said Dr Sylvie Briand, WHO staff member. said Friday. “WHO takes the risk of this virus very seriously and urges all countries to exercise increased vigilance.”
The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) has expressed similar concerns.
“The current situation highlights the risk that the H5N1 bird flu could become more adapted to mammals and spread to humans and other animals,” officials said on February 13. , leading to the emergence of new strains and subtypes that may be more harmful to animals and humans that may act as mixing vessels for different influenza strains.”
A 9-year-old girl from Ecuador tested positive for bird flu H5N1 in January, becoming the first case in South America. She was hospitalized in critical condition, but she has since recovered. In September 2022, a 38-year-old woman died of H5N1 in Guangxi, China after being exposed to backyard poultry.
