China detects third human case of H3N8 strain of bird flu

In China, the virus was first detected in humans last year.

A 56-year-old woman in Zhongshan, a city in the south of the country, tested positive for the virus after she was exposed to live poultry, the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention was quoted as saying by The South China Morning Post in a statement on Monday.

It said the woman had underlying illnesses but did not give further details of her condition nor confirm how she became infected. The statement said there were “no anomalies” found among her close contacts. There have been no confirmed cases of the virus being transmitted between humans so far.

“According to the experts’ studies and conclusion, the human infection [with H3N8] is a sporadic case and the risk of transmission of the virus is low at this stage,” the statement said. “The public should try to avoid contact with live birds and sick or dead birds.”

China has detected the first case of the viral infection in a boy in central province of Henan.