China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu

China has recorded (https://bit.ly/3rXggFK) the first human
infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, the country’s health
authority said on Tuesday, but said the risk of it spreading
among people was low.
A four-year-old boy from central Henan province was found
to have been infected with the variant after developing a fever
and other symptoms on April 5.
No close contacts were infected with the virus, the National
Health Commission said in a statement.
The commission said an initial assessment determined the variant
did not yet have the ability to effectively infect humans, and the
risk of a large-scale epidemic was low.
Many different strains of bird flu are present in China and some
sporadically infect people, usually those working with poultry.
China has huge populations of both farmed and wild birds of many
species, creating an ideal environment for avian viruses to mix and
mutate. Growing surveillance of avian influenza in people also
means more infections are being picked up.