Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users
to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response
is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual
response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the
browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published
online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed.
Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles.
The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being
wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our
attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not
including references and author details. We will no longer post responses
that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
A new bird flu H10N8 virus strain has erupted in China. A 73-year-old woman from China's Jiangxi province has died from the new H10N8 avian flu infection, the third of a series of new strains discovered in the country. H10N8 existed among birds, but human infection had never been reported before.
The unidentified fatality was admitted to the hospital on Nov 30 with severe pneumonia. She died on Dec 6. None of the people she had been in contact so far have been sick, but are under close medical surveillance. Apart from pneumonia, the patient was also diagnosed with high blood pressure and a neuromuscular disorder, and suffered a heart attack. Before getting sick, relatives said she had recently visited a live poultry market.
Influenza A(H10) is currently not a local statutorily notifiable infectious disease but the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch is capable of detecting this virus by culture or genetic testing. No confirmed human cases have been recorded so far in China.
The H10N8 strain was detected in Chinese birds as early as June 2012, based on a report released by Chinese researchers in the same month in the Journal of Virology[1]. In the report, Chinese researchers said they had detected the H10N8 strain in a live-bird market, in Guangdong province.
However, a May 2012 report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases revealed that two Australian abattoir workers tested positive for H10 after processed chickens from a farm that suffered from an H10N7 outbreak in 2010[2 3]. The two workers only had minor symptoms.
People in Jiangxi province have been advised not to visit live-poultry markets, and to refrain having direct contact with poultry, birds, and their droppings as well.
It doesn't sound like we're teetering on the brink of a pandemic just yet, although this case has quite a few parallels with the original break-out of H7N9. H7N9 virus, with over 100 confirmed cases in China, is far more serious. That virus, first reported in China in March 2013[4-6], is believed to have resulted from exposure to infected poultry. The scope of the disease remains unknown, but has raised concern because most patients with H7N9 have been severely ill and 45 have died[7].
Hopefully this infection of H10N8 is just a one-off, and the country won't have to enter influenza lock-down. Health authorities recommend washing hands, covering the nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. And health authorities have warned travelers against visiting live poultry markets and to avoid direct contact with poultry, birds and their droppings.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author’s contributions
Cong Dai, Min Jiang and Ming-Jun Sun wrote the paper. Cong Dai had the original idea for the paper. All authors reviewed and approved the final draft of the paper.
References
1. Jiao P, Cao L, Yuan R, et al. Complete genome sequence of an H10N8 avian influenza virus isolated from a live bird market in Southern China. J Virol 2012;86(14):7716 doi: 10.1128/JVI.00959-12
86/14/7716 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
2. Arzey GG, Kirkland PD, Arzey KE, et al. Influenza virus A (H10N7) in chickens and poultry abattoir workers, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2012;18(5):814-6 doi: 10.3201/eid1805.111852[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
3. Abolnik C, Gerdes GH, Sinclair M, et al. Phylogenetic analysis of influenza A viruses (H6N8, H1N8, H4N2, H9N2, H10N7) isolated from wild birds, ducks, and ostriches in South Africa from 2007 to 2009. Avian Dis 2010;54(1 Suppl):313-22
4. Wu S, Wu F, He J. Emerging risk of H7N9 influenza in China. Lancet 2013 doi: S0140-6736(13)60767-9 [pii]
10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60767-9[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
5. Parry J. H7N9 avian flu kills seven and infects 23 in China. BMJ 2013;346:f2222 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f2222
bmj.f2222 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
6. Parry J. H7N9 avian flu infects humans for the first time. BMJ 2013;346:f2151 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f2151
bmj.f2151 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
7. Cheung MK. Human infection with H7N9 virus. N Engl J Med 2013;369(9):879-80 doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1308255#SA2[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
Competing interests:
No competing interests
07 February 2014
cong dai
doctor
Min Jiang, Ming-jun Sun
Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University
No. 92 of Beier Road, Heping District, the city of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.
It must be a good news that the Chinese are sharing this kind of information with WHO. At the same time it is a challenge to the Infection Control agencies the world over to work out the implications of this first ever reported case of a human fatality related to H10N8 Avian flu virus.
Re: H10N8 avian flu virus claims its first known human casualty
A new bird flu H10N8 virus strain has erupted in China. A 73-year-old woman from China's Jiangxi province has died from the new H10N8 avian flu infection, the third of a series of new strains discovered in the country. H10N8 existed among birds, but human infection had never been reported before.
The unidentified fatality was admitted to the hospital on Nov 30 with severe pneumonia. She died on Dec 6. None of the people she had been in contact so far have been sick, but are under close medical surveillance. Apart from pneumonia, the patient was also diagnosed with high blood pressure and a neuromuscular disorder, and suffered a heart attack. Before getting sick, relatives said she had recently visited a live poultry market.
Influenza A(H10) is currently not a local statutorily notifiable infectious disease but the Public Health Laboratory Services Branch is capable of detecting this virus by culture or genetic testing. No confirmed human cases have been recorded so far in China.
The H10N8 strain was detected in Chinese birds as early as June 2012, based on a report released by Chinese researchers in the same month in the Journal of Virology[1]. In the report, Chinese researchers said they had detected the H10N8 strain in a live-bird market, in Guangdong province.
However, a May 2012 report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases revealed that two Australian abattoir workers tested positive for H10 after processed chickens from a farm that suffered from an H10N7 outbreak in 2010[2 3]. The two workers only had minor symptoms.
People in Jiangxi province have been advised not to visit live-poultry markets, and to refrain having direct contact with poultry, birds, and their droppings as well.
It doesn't sound like we're teetering on the brink of a pandemic just yet, although this case has quite a few parallels with the original break-out of H7N9. H7N9 virus, with over 100 confirmed cases in China, is far more serious. That virus, first reported in China in March 2013[4-6], is believed to have resulted from exposure to infected poultry. The scope of the disease remains unknown, but has raised concern because most patients with H7N9 have been severely ill and 45 have died[7].
Hopefully this infection of H10N8 is just a one-off, and the country won't have to enter influenza lock-down. Health authorities recommend washing hands, covering the nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing. And health authorities have warned travelers against visiting live poultry markets and to avoid direct contact with poultry, birds and their droppings.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Author’s contributions
Cong Dai, Min Jiang and Ming-Jun Sun wrote the paper. Cong Dai had the original idea for the paper. All authors reviewed and approved the final draft of the paper.
References
1. Jiao P, Cao L, Yuan R, et al. Complete genome sequence of an H10N8 avian influenza virus isolated from a live bird market in Southern China. J Virol 2012;86(14):7716 doi: 10.1128/JVI.00959-12
86/14/7716 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
2. Arzey GG, Kirkland PD, Arzey KE, et al. Influenza virus A (H10N7) in chickens and poultry abattoir workers, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis 2012;18(5):814-6 doi: 10.3201/eid1805.111852[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
3. Abolnik C, Gerdes GH, Sinclair M, et al. Phylogenetic analysis of influenza A viruses (H6N8, H1N8, H4N2, H9N2, H10N7) isolated from wild birds, ducks, and ostriches in South Africa from 2007 to 2009. Avian Dis 2010;54(1 Suppl):313-22
4. Wu S, Wu F, He J. Emerging risk of H7N9 influenza in China. Lancet 2013 doi: S0140-6736(13)60767-9 [pii]
10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60767-9[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
5. Parry J. H7N9 avian flu kills seven and infects 23 in China. BMJ 2013;346:f2222 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f2222
bmj.f2222 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
6. Parry J. H7N9 avian flu infects humans for the first time. BMJ 2013;346:f2151 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f2151
bmj.f2151 [pii][published Online First: Epub Date]|.
7. Cheung MK. Human infection with H7N9 virus. N Engl J Med 2013;369(9):879-80 doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1308255#SA2[published Online First: Epub Date]|.
Competing interests: No competing interests