As if COVID-19 is not enough, China is reporting that it has recorded the first human infection of the H3N8 strain of bird flu.
But the country’s health authority said the risk of it spreading among people is low.
According to reports from China, the case was reported in a four-year-old boy from central Henan province who had developed a fever and other symptoms after being infected with the variant on April 5.
Close contacts with the boy have not been infected with the virus, the National Health Commission in China said in a statement.
The statement said initial assessment determined the variant did not yet have the ability to effectively infect humans, and the risk of a large-scale epidemic was low.
Many different strains of the bird flu have been reported in China at various times, especially among people working with poultry.
Last year China reported the first human case of H10N3.
