FIRST HUMAN CASE OF H10N8 FLU CITED

China has reported the world’s first human case of H10N8 flu, a viral infection that is usually transmitted between birds, officials said on Tuesday.

The health authority of Jiangxi province said that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that a 73-year-old woman, who died of respiratory failure on Dec 6, had been carrying the virus.

The woman was taken to a hospital in the provincial capital of Nanchang on Nov 30 and

The forestry department will spare no effort in fighting the illegal trade of wild birds and further standardizing the operation of farms that raise birds and poultry.

Industrial and commercial administrations will ban imports of birds and domestic poultry from other provinces, and all markets will be required to clean and sterilize regularly, he added.

Feng Zijian, director of the health emergency center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said there will diagnosed with severe pneumonia, along with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and a neuromuscular disorder.

The statement didn’t say whether the flu was the major cause of her death.

The patient had been exposed to a poultry market, but those who had been in close contact with her have not shown flu symptoms.

Dong Xiaoping, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention be sporadic human cases of H7N9 throughout the winter and coming spring on the Chinese mainland.

The mainland has reported 142 human cases of the bird flu virus since it emerged in March, including fewer than 10 cases since October.

In response, the health and agriculture departments have beefed up regular monitoring of suspected flu cases and the working capacity of medical institutions nationwide for the timely diagnosis and treatment of patients, Feng said. and Control, said this is the world’s first case of human infection with H10N8.

Li Lanjuan, an expert in infectious diseases at Zhejiang University, said it is an individual case that involves “a senior patient with a weak immune system” being attacked by the virus.

She said the next step is to strengthen monitoring to determine how the virus is transmitted.

Research and development of H7N9 vaccines for human use is underway, but the use, once a vaccine is available, needs more research and assessment, Feng said.

Usually, vaccines protecting people from a virus that infects both humans and animals are developed preliminarily for strategic cases, rather than immediate mass use, the expert said. Contact the writers at zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn and shanjuan@chinadaily.com.cn