China records first human infection of new bird flu H10N3

A photograph of slaughtered chickens are displayed for sale at a wholesale poultry market in Shanghai. (Archive) (Egypt Independent)

Egypt Independent

“A man in Eastern China has contracted what might be the world’s first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, however, the risk of large-scale spread is low”, the Chinese government said on Tuesday.

“The 41-year-old man in Jiangsu province, Northwest of Shanghai, was hospitalised on 28 April and is in stable condition”, the Chinese National Health Commission said on its website.

The news comes amid heightened awareness of the threat of emerging diseases, such as COVID-19, continues to claim lives around the world.

Unlike coronaviruses, there are global influenza surveillance systems tracking human cases of bird flu, since a strain named H5N1 cropped up in the late 1990s in Hong Kong’s crowded live-poultry markets.

Between 2013 and 2017, another bird flu named H7N9 infected more than 1,500 people in China through close contact with infected chickens.

Authorities aren’t surprised to see occasional human cases of bird flu various strains which they monitor closely for any signs of spreading among people.