A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, China’s National Health Commission said.

The patient was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus on May 28.

The patient, from Zhenjiang city, is currently in a stable condition and meets discharge standards.

Health authorities played down the outbreak, saying the case was a sporadic virus transmission from poultry to humans, and the risk of causing a pandemic was extremely low.

No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally.

H10N3 is a low pathogenic or relatively less severe strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale is very low.

There are many different strains of Avian Influenza in China and some sporadically infect people, generally those working with poultry. 

In April, a highly pathogenic H5N6 avian flu was found in wild birds in northeast China’s Shenyang city.

What is Avian Influenza?

• Avian Influenza (AI) is a contagious viral disease affecting several species of food producing birds (chickens, turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, etc), as well as pet birds and wild birds. Occasionally mammals, including humans, may contract Avian Influenza, says World Organisation For Animal Health (OIE).

• Avian Influenza has captured the attention of the international community over the years, with outbreaks in poultry having serious consequences on both livelihoods and international trade in many countries.

• Although most Avian Influenza viruses do not infect humans, some, such as Avian Influenza H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2, are well known to the public because of their implication in serious and sometimes fatal infections in people.

• H5N1, for example, a highly pathogenic AI virus, was initially diagnosed in humans in Hong Kong in 1997. The virus then re-emerged in 2003 and 2004, and spread from Asia to Europe and Africa causing several hundred human cases and deaths, as well as destruction of hundreds of millions of poultry. This Asiatic form of H5N1 triggered concern from scientists and authorities and remains under close surveillance due to its feared pandemic potential if a mutation allows it to be transmitted from human to human.

• Nowadays, due to ongoing circulation of various strains (H5N1, H5N2, H5N8, H7N8, etc), outbreaks of Avian Influenza continue to be a global public health concern.

• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is an extremely contagious, multi-organ systemic disease of poultry leading to high mortality, and caused by some H5 and H7 subtypes of type A influenza virus.

• India notified the first outbreak of Avian Influenza in 2006. Since then, outbreaks have been reported in many states. The disease spreads mainly by migratory birds coming into India during winter months, September–October to February–March. The secondary spread by human handling (through fomites) cannot be ruled out.

How is bird flu spread among birds?    

The virus is contagious and can be spread to susceptible birds through: 

• Direct contact with nasal and respiratory secretions from infected birds.  

• Direct contact with the faeces of infected birds.

• Contamination of feed and water.

• Contact with contaminated equipment. 

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