Chinese health officials on June 1 confirmed the world's first known human infection from a strain of bird flu called H10N3, The New York Times reported.
A 41-year-old man in China's eastern Jiangsu province contracted the virus and was hospitalized April 28. China's CDC performed genome sequencing on a virus sample from the man May 28 and determined he'd been infected with H10N3. It's not clear how the man, who is now in stable condition, contracted the virus.
Chinese health officials said there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission, and they have not identified any other cases through contact-tracing.
The development warrants close monitoring and serves as a reminder of the continued risk for pandemic flus, health experts told the Times.
Avian viruses don't typically spread to humans, but can pose a threat if they mix with human viruses and swap genetic material, Raina MacIntyre, PhD, head of the biosecurity program at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia, told the Times.
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