WHO says risk of avian influenza spreading 'low' after China case

The risk of avian influenza A (H3N8) virus spreading at national or international levels is "low," the World Health Organization said on Tuesday following a recent confirmed case in China.

"Based on available information, it appears that this virus does not have the ability to spread easily from person to person, and therefore the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low," the WHO said in a statement.

However, the UN health body emphasized the significance of global surveillance to detect virological, epidemiological, and clinical changes associated with circulating influenza viruses that may harm human or animal health due to the continually evolving nature of influenza viruses.

It said China's National Health Commission notified the WHO of a confirmed case of human infection with an avian influenza A (H3N8) virus on March 27.

Close contact tracking and epidemiological research have been done, it said, and no more cases have been discovered among the afflicted person's close associates.

The case marked the third such infection and all reported in China, according to the WHO.

The infected person was identified as a 56-year-old woman from the coastal province of Guangdong with an onset of illness on Feb. 22. She was hospitalized for severe pneumonia on March 3 and subsequently died on March 16.