Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

China reports human case of H10N3 bird flu, a possible first

A dove rests on a tree near a Chinese flag fluttering at a park on Monday, April 1, 2013 in Shanghai, China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Eugene Hoshiko A dove rests on a tree near a Chinese flag fluttering at a park on Monday, April 1, 2013 in Shanghai, China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Eugene Hoshiko
Share
BEIJING -

A man in eastern China has contracted what might be the world's first human case of the H10N3 strain of bird flu, but the risk of large-scale spread is low, the government said Tuesday.

The 41-year-old man in Jiangsu province, northwest of Shanghai, was hospitalized April 28 and is in stable condition, the National Health Commission said on its website.

No human case of H10N3 has been reported elsewhere, the commission said.

"This infection is an accidental cross-species transmission," its statement said. "The risk of large-scale transmission is low."

The news comes amid heightened awareness of the threat of emerging diseases as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to claim lives around the world.

But unlike with coronaviruses, there are global influenza surveillance systems that watch for human cases of bird flu, since a strain named H5N1 cropped up in the late 1990s in Hong Kong's crowded live-poultry markets.

Between 2013 and 2017, another bird flu named H7N9 infected more than 1,500 people in China through close contact with infected chickens.

With that history, authorities aren't surprised to see occasional human cases of various bird flu strains and they monitor closely for any signs one is spreading between people.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Safaa went to Lebanon looking to meet with a specialist for her Crohn's disease. Now, she and her four children are caught in the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

Thousands of dead birds, from kingfishers to blue jays, encircle a wild turkey to illustrate in one snapshot a mere fragment of how many die from colliding into glass windows – a death that can be easily prevented, the Torontonian photographer says.

Local Spotlight

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.