A 41-year-old man living in Zhenjiang has contracted a form of bird flu, called H10N3, probably from birds. This is the very first time in the world that this strain has infected a human. The circumstances of the transmission remain unclear, but the strain should not, a priori, cause an epidemic, underlines AFP.
This human case of bird flu has only just been disclosed by the Chinese authorities, a month after his hospitalization. The Chinese authorities explained that they had screened all the contact persons of the patient without any having (for the time being) tested positive.
Extremely low epidemic risk
This result seems rather logical, insofar as the H10N3 strain is considered to have a low risk of developing a disease in the birds which carry it, it is said that the strain is “low pathogenic”. Transmission between humans is also very unlikely as it is rare in cases of avian flu.
Some strains have already given rise to avian flu epidemics, because they were transmissible from animals to humans. We remember in particular the H5N1 flu. A priori, the birth of this strain should not cause fear of an epidemic, China speaks of an “extremely low risk of large-scale dissemination”. In most cases of bird flu, this leads to the culling of birds.
Sources: AFP, Reuters
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