Avian influenza: “Spanish” human case detected in England

A “rare” case of avian influenza in humans was detected in England, UK Health Safety Agency announced today.

” The transmission of bird flu virus to humans is rare and has only occurred a few times in the United Kingdom,” said the Health Safety Agency, UKHSA.

The person whose sex is not mentioned was infected on a farm in central England, where he had ‘close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds’, points out the announcement. The condition of the person’s health is considered to be “good” and is under medical supervision in an infectious disease care unit.

“The risk to the general public remains very low”, the service completed, confirming that the virus has not been “proven” from man to man.

All those who had contact with the infected person have been identified. “People at the highest risk of exposure are given antiviral therapy,” UKHSA said.

The agency added that this case comes from a different strain of the virus than that circulating on mammals and birds in the US.

In early January, health authorities in the U.S. state of Louisiana announced the first death of a man associated with avian influenza. The 65-year-old patient, suffering from underlying diseases, was the first serious human case of H5N1 detected in the country, the American authorities had highlighted. RES/RRR

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