Woman becomes first person in world to die from new virus strain
A woman in China has become the first person ever to die from the H3N8 strain of bird flu.
The 56-year-old first fell ill on February 22 and was taken to the hospital with severe pneumonia in March.
The woman, from the Guangdong province, died on March 16.
She is the third person ever to be officially diagnosed with H3N8, which is one of the most common strains in birds but the likelihood of spreading to humans is low.
The World Health Organization wrote in their latest assessment of the H3N8 infection that the woman had "multiple underlying conditions".
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It added: "She had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of wild bird presence around her home. No close contacts of the case developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of reporting."
Meat seller on a stall at in indoor wet market in an old Chinese-style area of Fuchengmen, (Corbis via Getty Images)The WHO concluded that the woman picked the illness up from a wet market where she spent time.
The assessment read: "Environmental samples were collected from the patient's residence and the wet market where the patient spent time before the onset of illness.
"The results of testing showed that the samples collected from the wet market were positive for influenza A(H3)."
The other two who were infected were young boys, who became struck down in China in April and May last year.
Their cases were not linked and they both survived.
A Chinese poultry seller wait for customers behind freshly-slaughtered chickens on sale at a wet market in Beijing (AFP via Getty Images)Despite the worrying development, the WHO says it does not change its recommendations for public health measures and surveillance
In the UK, an order currently requiring all bird owners to keep their animals indoors to reduce the spread of avian influenza is to be lifted, the Government has said.
Bird keepers have been subject to a national housing order since November 7 to help curb an unprecedented number of bird flu cases - more than 330 have been confirmed in the UK since October 2021.
The Government said poultry and other captive birds can be kept outside again from April 18 unless they are in a specified protection zone.
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From this date, eggs laid by hens with access to outside ranges can once again be labelled as free range.
Dr Christine Middlemiss, the UK's chief veterinary officer, said the risk of bird flu infection has reduced following restrictive measures throughout the winter, although bird keepers are being encouraged to observe "stringent standards of biosecurity".
The strict rules brought in under the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone will still apply, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said, as the virus may still be circulating in the environment for several more weeks.
Places with poor biosecurity have been assessed as medium risk of infection and those with good biosecurity are seen as low risk..
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