China confirms first human case of bird flu strain

Agence France-Presse

<p>BEIJING - China reported the world&#x27;s first human infection of the H10N3 bird flu strain on Tuesday but said the risk of it spreading widely among people was low.</p><p>A 41-year-old man was admitted to hospital with fever symptoms in the eastern city of Zhenjiang on April 28 and was diagnosed with H10N3 a month later, China&#x27;s National Health Commission (NHC) said in an online statement.</p><p>&quot;The risk of large-scale spread is extremely low,&quot; the NHC said, adding that the man was in a stable condition and his close contacts had reported no &quot;abnormalities.&quot;</p><p>It described H10N3 as low pathogenic -- less likely to cause death or severe illness -- in birds.</p><p>The NHC said there had been no human cases of H10N3 previously reported in the world.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/28/21/no-timeline-yet-for-new-covid-19-origins-probe-who">US calls for &#x27;transparent&#x27; new investigation into COVID-19 origins</a></li></ul><p>Several strains of bird flu have been found among animals in China but mass outbreaks in humans are rare.</p><p>The last human epidemic of bird flu in China occurred in late 2016 to 2017, with the H7N9 virus. </p><p>The H7N9 has infected 1,668 people and claimed 616 lives since 2013, according to the United Nations&#x27; Food and Agriculture Organization.</p><p>Following recent avian flu outbreaks in Africa and Eurasia, the head of China&#x27;s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention last week urged stricter surveillance in poultry farms, markets and wild birds.</p><p>COVID-19 was first detected at a food and animal market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/05/25/21/us-calls-for-transparent-new-investigation-into-covid-19-origins">US calls for &#x27;transparent&#x27; new investigation into COVID-19 origins</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1636512" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>BEIJING - China reported the world's first human infection of the H10N3 bird flu strain on Tuesday but said the risk of it spreading widely among people was low.</p>

BEIJING - China reported the world's first human infection of the H10N3 bird flu strain on Tuesday but said the risk of it spreading widely among people was low.