China's H10N3 Bird Flu Strain: First Human Case!

On the 1st of June, the China National Health Commission (NHC) verified the first human case of H10N3, popularly known as Bird Flu. According to reports, a 41-year-old Zhenjiang resident has been infected with the H10N3 strain of avian influenza. On the 28th of April, he had a fever and other illness symptoms and was brought to the hospital.

Last week, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined a blood sample from the patient and confirmed that it was the H10N3 strain that caused the Bird Flu infection.

Meanwhile, the man was doing well and was on his way out of the hospital. The medical teams are investigating his close contacts but have not identified any other cases till now, still, they are under medical observation. No human had ever been infected with the H1093 Bird Flu strain, that has been detected, until this incident.

About H10N3 Bird Flu

H10N3 is low pathogenic, according to Beijing's National Health Commission, which means it causes less severe sickness and is unlikely to generate a large-scale outbreak. According to Filip Claes, regional laboratory coordinator of the Food and Agriculture Organization's Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases, at the regional office for Asia and the Pacific, the strain is "not a very common virus."

In China, there are many different strains of Bird Flu, and some of them sporadically infect people, generally individuals who work in poultry. There is no evidence that H10N3 is easily transmitted in people. It will be necessary to examine the virus's genetic data to see if it resembles prior viruses or if it is a novel mix of viruses. 

"The source of the patient's H10N3 virus exposure is unknown at this time," the World Health Organization (WHO) noted, "and no other instances were detected in emergency surveillance among the local community”. At this time, there is no proof of human-to-human transmission.
WHO added, "As long as avian influenza viruses exist in poultry, sporadic avian influenza infection in humans is not unusual, which serves as a strong warning that the possibility of a pandemic remains."

The probability of a large-scale breakout, according to China, is quite low. There had been no more cases of human-to-human transmission, according to local health officials. According to the report, the H10N3 virus is incapable of infecting humans.

Although China has been criticized for a lack of transparency in the early phases of the Coronavirus Pandemic, its public-health system is known for being more transparent since the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, which was impeded by official concealment.

Bird Flu History

In 1997, the first known cases in humans were reported, which in Hong Kong led to severe illness. H5N1 is a highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus of type A. Since the strain got discovered in the late 1990s, there have been global influenza surveillance systems that keep an eye out for human cases of bird flu. 

In China, between 2013 and 2017, another bird flu strain known as H7N9 infected almost 1,500 people through intimate contact with infected chickens. The subtypes H5 and H7 are the most deadly strains.

With such history, authorities aren't surprised to encounter human cases of various bird flu strains frequently. The authority keeps a tight eye on any evidence that one is spreading between people. In the 40 years before 2018, only about 160 cases of the virus were reported, largely in diverse waterfowl or wild birds.

H10 influenza viruses have been found in a wide range of domestic and wild bird species, as well as mammals, indicating that they have the potential to adapt. H10N3 has been isolated from domestic poultry chickens, ducks, other waterfowl, and terrestrial birds throughout a wide geographic distribution.

Although H10N3 is usually a milder strain, it is unlikely to cause a large outbreak. Since the H7N9 variant killed around 300 people in 2016-2017, there have been no significant numbers of human illnesses with bird flu. 

Who Are More at Risk?

Village poultry and their owners were commonly involved in disease transmission during the early days of the H5N1 pandemic. The health committee, on the other hand, did not specify how the man came into contact with the H10N3 Bird Flu virus. 

Human cases of bird flu have been reported most frequently among persons who work closely with poultry regularly, such as chicken farmers. The public was cautioned to stay away from sick and dead poultry, according to the commission. 

The virus is detected in the secretions of infected birds' noses, mouths, and eyes, as well as their droppings. Direct contact with infected chickens, such as during slaughter or plucking, can spread the virus to humans.

Written by - Kriti Verma
Edited by - Piyush Pandey