Authorities in China have confirmed that a 41-year-old man hospitalized on April 28 was the first human to contract the H10N3 avian influenza virus.
The man, who is from Jiangsu province, which is northwest of Shanghai, had a fever and other symptoms and is now in stable condition. Officials said his prognosis is good, and he is expected to be released from the hospital in the coming days.
There were no other reports of infections following contract tracing and medical observation of his close contacts. It is unclear how the man contracted the virus. Most people who contract an avian flu virus work with poultry.
“This infection is an accidental cross-species transmission,” China’s National Health Commission said in a statement. “The risk of large-scale transmission is low.”
There are no other reports of the H10N3 strain in humans.
It is rare for avian flu viruses to jump from birds to people, but it can be deadly when it does. The H5N1 strain, which has been around since 2003, has sickened over 700 people around the world and has a mortality rate of 60%. The most recent epidemic was caused by the H7N9 strain, which killed about 300 people from 2016-2017.
Photo: Getty Images