Updated Feb. 5, 2014 10:59 p.m. ET
In the heart of winter's flu season, scientists have discovered another strain of avian flu capable of spreading to humans. Hong Kong University epidemiologist Ben Cowling tells Deborah Kan how worrying this strain of the virus is.
BEIJING—Scientists warned that a strain of avian flu has mutated and can now infect humans, requiring close scrutiny, while authorities were cautiously watching another strain making its way through China.
The Lancet medical journal said in a study published Wednesday that a strain of the H10N8 avian flu mutated and can now be carried by humans. The study followed findings by Chinese researchers that the H10N8 flu had been found in two people in recent months. The first, a 73-year-old woman in the city of Nanchang in Jiangxi province, died Dec. 6.
The Lancet study said the new strain had genetic similarities to two other types of avian flu—H5N1 and H7N9—that jumped from birds to people and have led to deaths in humans. Its authors also said H10N8 hasn't produced major reported outbreaks of disease in poultry, meaning it could quietly spread in flocks.
The findings showed that the disease hadn't been transmitted from person to person, which would make it more dangerous. Still, they warned that the new strain warranted caution. "The pandemic potential of this novel virus should not be underestimated," the authors wrote.
Chinese and international health officials have closely watched the spread of the H7N9 virus during the current winter-driven flu season. H7N9 has killed 25 people in China since January, while more than 113 people have been infected, the state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday. On Wednesday, Xinhua said authorities had reported 11 more people infected, with eight in critical condition.
Like H10N8, H7N9 hasn't shown sustained human-to-human transmission, with World Health Organization officials saying they believe the latter flu is primarily transmitted to humans by birds. Authorities in a number of places have closed live bird markets to combat the spread of the disease.
The Lancet study said the woman in Nanchang was admitted to the hospital Nov. 30 with a fever and died nine days after the onset of the illness; she experienced multiple organ failure. It said she had been to a live poultry market four days before she became sick, though investigators were unable to find the H10N8 strain there.
It said the flu may have caused her death, though they said that investigators couldn't conduct an autopsy and that she suffered from hypertension, heart disease and myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disorder.
The second person infected with H10N8, a 55-year-old woman also in Nanchang, is still being treated.
In a separate commentary, the Lancet said flus of this type hadn't shown sustained human-to-human transmission, but they added that this isn't an excuse for complacency. "Whether cases of avian influenza A H10N8 virus infection are going to increase is unknown, because how widely these viruses are circulating in poultry is unknown," it said. "More surveillance will be needed to establish the origin of H10N8 and to monitor potential future transmission events."
Write to Carlos Tejada at carlos.tejada@wsj.com
In the heart of winter's flu season, scientists have discovered another strain of avian flu capable of spreading to humans. Hong Kong University epidemiologist Ben Cowling tells Deborah Kan how worrying this strain of the virus is.
BEIJING—Scientists warned that a strain of avian flu has mutated and can now infect humans, requiring close scrutiny, while authorities were cautiously watching another strain making its way through China.
The Lancet medical journal said in a study published Wednesday that a strain of the H10N8 avian flu mutated and can now be carried by humans. The study followed findings by Chinese researchers that the H10N8 flu had been found in two people in recent months. The first, a 73-year-old woman in the city of Nanchang in Jiangxi province, died Dec. 6.
The Lancet study said the new strain had genetic similarities to two other types of avian flu—H5N1 and H7N9—that jumped from birds to people and have led to deaths in humans. Its authors also said H10N8 hasn't produced major reported outbreaks of disease in poultry, meaning it could quietly spread in flocks.
The findings showed that the disease hadn't been transmitted from person to person, which would make it more dangerous. Still, they warned that the new strain warranted caution. "The pandemic potential of this novel virus should not be underestimated," the authors wrote.
Chinese and international health officials have closely watched the spread of the H7N9 virus during the current winter-driven flu season. H7N9 has killed 25 people in China since January, while more than 113 people have been infected, the state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday. On Wednesday, Xinhua said authorities had reported 11 more people infected, with eight in critical condition.
Like H10N8, H7N9 hasn't shown sustained human-to-human transmission, with World Health Organization officials saying they believe the latter flu is primarily transmitted to humans by birds. Authorities in a number of places have closed live bird markets to combat the spread of the disease.
The Lancet study said the woman in Nanchang was admitted to the hospital Nov. 30 with a fever and died nine days after the onset of the illness; she experienced multiple organ failure. It said she had been to a live poultry market four days before she became sick, though investigators were unable to find the H10N8 strain there.
It said the flu may have caused her death, though they said that investigators couldn't conduct an autopsy and that she suffered from hypertension, heart disease and myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disorder.
The second person infected with H10N8, a 55-year-old woman also in Nanchang, is still being treated.
In a separate commentary, the Lancet said flus of this type hadn't shown sustained human-to-human transmission, but they added that this isn't an excuse for complacency. "Whether cases of avian influenza A H10N8 virus infection are going to increase is unknown, because how widely these viruses are circulating in poultry is unknown," it said. "More surveillance will be needed to establish the origin of H10N8 and to monitor potential future transmission events."
Write to Carlos Tejada at carlos.tejada@wsj.com
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