China reports first human case of H3N8 avian influenza

China has recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 avian influenza strain. The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China announced this writes Reuters.

The case was a four-year-old boy from the central province of Henan, who came into contact with chickens raised by his family.

The first symptoms, including fever, appeared on him on April 5, and on the 10th, after his condition worsened, he was hospitalized. The H3N8 virus was confirmed on 24 April.

None of his close contacts were infected with H3N8. Initial evaluation showed that this option does not yet have the ability to be effectively disseminated to people, and the risk of a large-scale epidemic is extremely low, the National Commission said in a statement healthcare.

The H3N8 avian influenza variant has previously been found elsewhere in horses, dogs, birds, and seals, but no human cases of this variant have been reported.