China Confirms first human case of Bird Flu Strain: Current Affairs Special Series

Team Adda247 and BankersAdda are here with a Current Affairs Special Series. In this series, candidates will be introduced to current affairs topics daily, which will not only improve their general awareness but also will ensure that the candidates do not lack in any current affairs topic. Today’s Current Affairs topic is China Confirms first human case of Bird Flu Strain.

China Confirms first human case of Bird Flu Strain

China has reported the world’s first case of human infection of H10N3 avian influenza in its eastern province of Jiangsu. The case was diagnosed in a male aged 41 and living in Zhenjiang, a city in the eastern part of the province, was an occasional poultry-to-human transmission, the National Health Commission said.
The risk of spreading on a large scale was very low and there has been no case of human infection of H10N3 reported in the world before. In the last week, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has conducted a genome sequence on a blood sample from the patient and has also confirmed that it was the H10N3 strain. Local authorities have tracked down the patient’s contacts and have kept them under medical observation. The H10N3 virus was of avian origin after the experts’ assessment of full genetic analysis of the virus.
National Health Commission of China has advised people of the Zhenjiang region that they should avoid contact with sick or dead poultry and try to avoid direct contact with live birds also. They should pay attention to food hygiene, cover their face with masks, and check for fever and respiratory symptoms.
In February, China had reported an outbreak of H5N8 avian influenza in the coastal city of Lianyungang which is in the eastern province of Jiangsu.
In April, a highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu had found in wild birds in Shenyang, a city in northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
In December 2020, Central China’s Hunan Province confirmed a human infection case of the H5N6 bird flu virus as reported by the state-run tabloid.