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MOSCOW – Russia has registered the first case of a strain of avian influenza virus called A (H5N8) that is transmitted to humans through birds and has reported the matter to the World Health Organization (WHO), Anna Popova, director of consumer health regulator Rospotrebnadzor, said on Saturday.
Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months, but so far only in poultry. Other strains, H5N1, H7N9, and H9N2, are known to spread to humans.
Russia reported the case of human infection to the WHO “several days ago, just when we were absolutely sure of our results,” Popova said on state television Rossiya 24. There were still no signs of human-to-human transmission, he added.
Seven workers at a poultry plant in southern Russia had been infected with the H5N8 strain in an outbreak at the plant in December, Popova said, adding that the people involved were feeling fine now. “This situation did not develop further,” he said.
In an email, the European branch of the WHO said Russia had notified it of a case of human H5N8 infection and acknowledged that, if confirmed, it would be the first time the strain had infected people.
“Preliminary information indicates that the reported cases were workers exposed to flocks of birds,” the email read. “They were asymptomatic and no person-to-person transmission was reported.
“We are in discussions with national authorities to gather more information and assess the public health impact of this event,” the email added.
Most human infections with avian influenza have been associated with direct contact with infected poultry, live or dead, although properly cooked food is considered safe.
Avian flu outbreaks often lead poultry plants to kill their birds to prevent the virus from spreading and to prevent importing countries from having to impose trade restrictions.
The vast majority of cases are spread by the migration of wild birds, so producing countries tend to keep their poultry indoors or protected from contact with wildlife.
The Siberian Vector Institute said on Saturday it would begin developing human tests and a vaccine against H5N8, the RIA news agency reported. – Reuters
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