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China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

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  • China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

    [Source: World Health Organization, Representative Office in China, full page: (LINK).]


    Avian influenza A (H10N8)


    Key facts
    • The WHO has been officially notified by the Chinese health authorities that avian influenza A (H10N8) has been detected in a single patient with severe pneumonia.
    • The patient is a 73-year old female from Jiangxi Province, China. She was hospitalized on November 30 and died on December 6.
    • This is the first ever report of H10N8 isolated from a patient.
    • The patient visited a live bird market four days before date of onset. She had many underlying medical conditions (immunocompromised).
    • The family members and other contacts had no symptoms and no other similar cases were detected in the area.
    • The fact that the virus was isolated from a patient and reported through active surveillance by the Chinese health authorities is a sign that the surveillance system is working well.
    • The specific source of the infection is unknown. As wild birds/poultry have been known to carry this virus, further sporadic cases may be detected.
    • While the investigation is ongoing, including contact tracing and enhanced surveillance, so far, there is no evidence of sick contacts or human-to-human transmission.
    • WHO is in contact with the national authorities and is following closely the event and will communicate important updates as they become available.


    What we know
    • Although China has previously detected H10N8 in wild and domestic birds, this is the first ever report of H10N8 isolated from a patient. Given the potentially unpredictable behaviour of influenza viruses, vigilance and close monitoring is needed.
    • Outside of China, based on available literature, the virus had been detected in birds since 1965 in at least six countries (Italy, USA, Canada, South Korea, Sweden and Japan).
    • Human infections with influenza H10N7 subtype viruses have been previously reported from Egypt and Australia. All these patients presented with mild clinical signs and recovered.
    • The Chinese government is actively investigating this event and has heightened disease surveillance for early detection, prevention and control measures.
    • Given the increase in ILI and SARI surveillance, testing, and subtyping of influenza A positive specimens, especially in China, it is not unexpected to start to detect human infections with a variety of non-seasonal influenza subtypes.


    WHO action
    • WHO is closely monitoring the situation and facilitating information sharing with Member States through the International Health Regulations.
    • WHO is collaborating with animal health colleagues to identify a possible animal source of the virus and assess the health risks.
    • WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event, nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied.


    WHO?s public health advice
    • Avoid contact with sick or dead poultry. Keep children away from poultry.
    • Avoid touching any surfaces that may have been contaminated with poultry feces or blood.
    • Do not eat raw or undercooked poultry. Cook poultry to internal temperature of 70?C (until meat is not pink in the centre) and do not touch cooked meat with raw meat.
    • Clean cooking implements that have been in contact with raw meat before re-using.
    • Wash hands regularly, especially after handling poultry, while cooking and before eating.
    • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze.
    • WHO does not recommend any specific measures be applied to travellers at this time.
    • Poultry, poultry products (eggs) and pork can be safely consumed provided they are properly cooked and properly handled during food preparation.


    For more information, please contact

    Helen Yu, Communications Officer, WHO in China, Office Tel: +86 10 65327191 ext 81275, Mobile: 13911205167, Email: yuji@wpro.who.int


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  • #2
    H10N8 -Chinese scientists report first human death linked to new bird flu virus

    Lots of stories on this today..

    By:
    Paige Camden, Health and Social Care Correspondent
    Published: Wednesday, February 5, 2014 - 00:01 GMT
    The world’s first confirmed case of human infection with a new avian influenza A H10N8 virus in a 73-year old woman, who died, has been reported in China.


    Scientists have reported, in The Lancet, the world’s first confirmed case. Tests on tracheal swab samples showed the virus was a new genetic reassortment avian-origin H10N8 virus (JX346).
    Reassortment is the mixing of the genetic material of a species into new combinations in different individuals.
    If a single host (a human, a chicken, or other animal) is infected by two different strains of the influenza virus, then it is possible that new assembled viral particles will be created from segments whose origin is mixed, some coming from one strain and some coming from another.
    Whole genomic sequencing indicated that all the genes of the virus were of avian origin, with six internal genes derived from avian H9N2 viruses that are currently circulating in poultry in China.

    Dr Yuelong Shu from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing said: “Genetic analysis of the H10N8 virus shows a virus that is distinct from previously reported H10N8 viruses having evolved some genetic characteristics that may allow it to replicate efficiently in humans...
    ..“Notably, H9N2 virus provided the internal genes not only for the H10N8 virus, but also for H7N9 and H5N1 viruses”.
    The woman, from Nanchang City in http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2...bird-flu-virus
    CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

    treyfish2004@yahoo.com

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: H10N8 -Chinese scientists report first human death linked to new bird flu virus

      ...The new strain, called H10N8, has so far infected only two people - a fatal case in a 73-year-old and another in a woman who is critically ill in hospital. But the fact it has jumped from birds to humans is an important warning, they said.


      "We should always be worried when viruses cross the species barrier from birds or animals to humans, as it is very unlikely that we will have prior immunity to protect us," said Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust and an expert on flu.

      "We should be especially worried when those viruses show characteristics that suggest they have the capacity to replicate easily or to be virulent or resistant to drugs. This virus ticks several of these boxes and therefore is a cause for concern."..


      GENETIC REASSORTMENT

      Chinese scientists writing in The Lancet medical journal who conducted a genetic analysis on samples of the H10N8 virus from the woman who died said it was a new genetic reassortment of other strains of bird flu viruses, including one called H9N2 that is relatively well known in poultry in China.

      Somewhat worryingly, the virus - like H7N9 - has also evolved "some genetic characteristics that may allow it to replicate efficiently in humans", said Yuelong Shu of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing.

      According to the scientists' study of her case, the 73-year-old victim, from Nanchang City in eastern China, was admitted to hospital with fever and severe pneumonia on November 30, 2013. Despite being treated with antibiotic and antivirals, she deteriorated rapidly, developed multiple organ failure and died nine days after her symptoms first started.

      Investigations found the woman had been at a live poultry market a few days before becoming infected. But no H10N8 virus was found in samples collect..http://www.chicagotribune.com/health...,2451350.story
      CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

      treyfish2004@yahoo.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

        The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 5 February 2014
        doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60111-2Cite or Link Using DOI

        Copyright ? 2014 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

        Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a fatal case of avian influenza A H10N8 virus infection: a descriptive study

        ....
        Findings

        A woman aged 73 years presented with fever and was admitted to hospital on Nov 30, 2013. She developed multiple organ failure and died 9 days after illness onset. A novel reassortant avian influenza A H10N8 virus was isolated from the tracheal aspirate specimen obtained from the patient 7 days after onset of illness. Sequence analyses revealed that all the genes of the virus were of avian origin, with six internal genes from avian influenza A H9N2 viruses. The aminoacid motif GlnSerGly at residues 226?228 of the haemagglutinin protein indicated avian-like receptor binding preference. A mixture of glutamic acid and lysine at residue 627 in PB2 protein?which is associated with mammalian adaptation?was detected in the original tracheal aspirate samples. The virus was sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors. Sputum and blood cultures and deep sequencing analysis indicated no co-infection with bacteria or fungi. Epidemiological investigation established that the patient had visited a live poultry market 4 days before illness onset.

        Interpretation

        The novel reassortant H10N8 virus obtained is distinct from previously reported H10N8 viruses. The virus caused human infection and could have been associated with the death of a patient.
        ...

        "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
        -Nelson Mandela

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

          China scientists reveal second case of H10N8, raising alarm about bird flu's pandemic potential
          ...
          PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 05 February, 2014, 9:23am
          UPDATED : Wednesday, 05 February, 2014, 9:23am
          AFP and Reuters in London

          Chinese scientists sounded the alarm on Wednesday after a new bird flu virus, H10N8, killed an elderly woman in December and infected another individual last month.

          The fifth novel influenza strain to emerge in 17 years, the virus has a worrying genetic profile and should be closely monitored, they reported in The Lancet medical journal.

          It appears to be able to infect tissue deep in the lung and may have features allowing it to spread efficiently among humans, they said.

          ?The pandemic potential of this novel virus should not be underestimated,? said the team headed by Shu Yuelong from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Beijing.

          The warning stems from analysis of a virus sample taken from a 73-year-old woman who died in Nanchang, in southeastern Jiangxi province, on December 6 after being diagnosed with severe pneumonia and respiratory failure.

          Although the cases are few, the fact it has jumped from birds to humans is an important warning, the researchers said.
          ...
          "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
          -Nelson Mandela

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

            ...They isolated the virus and dubbed it A/Jiangxi-Donghu/346/2013(H10N8), or JX346 for short...Genetic findings

            The authors' genomic analysis of the virus showed that its hemagglutinin (H) protein was most closely related to that of a 2012 H10N3 duck isolate from Hunan province and that the neuraminidase (N) protein was most closely related to that of an H10N8 virus from a mallard in Korea.
            All six of JX346's internal genes were closely related to those of H9N2 poultry viruses currently circulating in China, the authors found. But the internal genes were significantly different from those of previously reported H10 and N8 subtype viruses and were in different subclades from those of known H7N9 viruses.


            Only two H10N8 viruses have been reported previously in China, one from a lake and the other from a poultry market, the report notes.
            "H9N2 virus provided the internal genes not only for the H10N8 virus, but also for H7N9 and H5N1 viruses," the report says. "This relation should be studied further to understand the mechanism of how the internal genes of H9N2 virus transfer to viruses that infect people, and how the avian influenza virus transfers between species."


            The authors say the findings suggest that JX346 might have originated from multiple reassortments between different avian flu viruses.
            Senior author Yuelong Shu, PhD, of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention commented in a Lancet press release, "The H10 and H8 gene segments might have derived from different wild bird influenza viruses [that] reassorted to give rise to a hypothetical H10N8 virus in wild birds, which infected poultry and then reassorted with H9N2 viruses in poultry to give rise to the novel reassortant JX346 (H10N8) virus."

            In other observations, the researchers say the patient's chronic medical conditions could have played a role in her death. But they found that the novel virus was "overwhelmingly dominant" in her tracheal specimens, which indicates that it was involved in her demise.

            In addition, they found a mixture of glutamic acid and lysine at residue 627 in the virus's PB2 protein, a mutation that is associated with adaptation to, and can increase virulence in, mammals.
            Further, the authors report that the novel virus preferentially binds avian-like alpha2,3-linked sialic acid receptors, which are "dominant in human lung tissue," suggesting a potential for the kind of lung damage found in human H5N1 infections..http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-persp...e-novel-strain
            CSI:WORLD http://swineflumagazine.blogspot.com/

            treyfish2004@yahoo.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: China - Woman, 73, hospitalized with avian influenza A (H10N8), China (WPRO/WHO, December 26 2013) - Died

              Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of a fatal case of avian influenza A H10N8 virus infection: a descriptive study

              HaiYing Chen MD a *, Hui Yuan MD b *, Rongbao Gao MD c *, Jinxiang Zhang MD d *, Prof Dayan Wang PhD c *, Ying Xiong MD b *, GuoYin Fan MD a *, Fan Yang PhD e *, Xiaodan Li MD c, Jianfang Zhou PhD c, Shumei Zou MD c, Lei Yang MD c, Tao Chen MD c, Libo Dong PhD c, Hong Bo PhD c, Xiang Zhao MD c, Ye Zhang MD c, Yu Lan MD c, Tian Bai MD c, Jie Dong MD c, Qun Li MD f, ShiWen Wang PhD c, YanPing Zhang MD f, Hui Li MPH a, Tian Gong MD b, Yong Shi MD b, Xiansheng Ni MD a, Jianxiong Li MD b, Jun Zhou MD b, Jiyi Fan MD g, Jingwen Wu MD a, Xianfeng Zhou MD a, Maohong Hu MD a, Jianguo Wan MD d, WeiZhong Yang MD f, DeXin Li PhD c, Guizhen Wu MD c, ZiJian Feng MPH f, George F Gao PhD f, Yu Wang PhD f, Prof Qi Jin PhD e ?, Mingbin Liu MD a ?, Prof Yuelong Shu PhD c h Corresponding Author ?Email Address

              snip

              Findings
              A woman aged 73 years presented with fever and was admitted to hospital on Nov 30, 2013. She developed multiple organ failure and died 9 days after illness onset. A novel reassortant avian influenza A H10N8 virus was isolated from the tracheal aspirate specimen obtained from the patient 7 days after onset of illness. Sequence analyses revealed that all the genes of the virus were of avian origin, with six internal genes from avian influenza A H9N2 viruses. The aminoacid motif GlnSerGly at residues 226?228 of the haemagglutinin protein indicated avian-like receptor binding preference. A mixture of glutamic acid and lysine at residue 627 in PB2 protein?which is associated with mammalian adaptation?was detected in the original tracheal aspirate samples. The virus was sensitive to neuraminidase inhibitors. Sputum and blood cultures and deep sequencing analysis indicated no co-infection with bacteria or fungi. Epidemiological investigation established that the patient had visited a live poultry market 4 days before illness onset.


              Comment

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