ELAN - China reports world's first human death due to H3N8 bird flu - WHO

2023-04-12 10:23:25 ET

A Chinese woman has become the first person to die from a type of bird flu that rarely spreads among humans, but its risk of transmission continues to be low, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.

The infection related to the avian influenza A(H3N8) virus is the third case China has reported so far, and the country accounted for all H3N8 cases globally, including two previous cases in 2022

The patient, a 56-year-old female from Guangdong province, died on Mar. 16 after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia on Mar. 03, the WHO said in a statement late on Tuesday.

"Based on available information, it appears that this virus does not have the ability to spread easily from person to person, and therefore the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low," the WHO added.

The H3N8 infection is unrelated to the H5N1 strain of the virus, which is currently spreading among wild birds and poultry in the U.S.

According to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), H5N1 has impacted nearly 59 birds and led to one human case.

"This human case of H3N8 virus infection is not thought to pose a risk to U.S. public health at this time," the CDC said.

Late last year, the U.S. bird flu outbreak was cited as a reason for rising food inflation due to its impact on turkey and egg operations . However, the latest CPI data indicate a drop in egg and poultry prices.

Selected commercial chicken producers: Pilgrim's Pride ( PPC ), Tyson Foods ( TSN ), Cal- Maine Foods ( CALM )

Selected animal health stocks IDEXX Laboratories ( IDXX ), Zoetis ( NYSE: ZTS ), and Elanco Animal Health ( ELAN )

Read: Last week, Zoetis ( ZTS ) Chief Executive Kristin Peck said that the company is developing a bird flu vaccine, and it would take about a year to create a vaccine against the current strain of the virus.

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