China reports 1st human case of H10N3 bird flu strain


China confirmed on Tuesday its first human case of the H10N3 bird flu strain, after a 41-year-old man in the eastern province of Jiangsu was diagnosed with an infection.
Health officials said the strain is not as severe as others and the risk of a large-scale outbreak is low, Reuters reports. The man went to the hospital after coming down with a fever and other symptoms, and on May 28 it was confirmed that he had the H10N3 virus. Health officials did not say how the man became infected, but did share that he is in stable condition and about to leave the hospital.
People close to the man have been under medical observation, and none have come down with the virus. H10N3 is "not a very common virus," Filip Claes of the Food and Agriculture Organization's Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases told Reuters. From 1978 to 2018, roughly 160 isolates of the virus were reported, primarily in waterfowl and wild birds in Asia and some areas of North America. There have been no detected cases in chickens.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Russian strike kills dozens in Ukraine
Speed Read The Sumy ballistic missile strike was Russia's deadliest attack on civilians this year
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
South Korea court removes impeached president
Speed Read The Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law in December
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Myanmar quake deaths rise as survivor search intensifies
speed read The magnitude-7.7 earthquake in central Myanmar has killed a documented 2,000 people so far, and left scores more trapped beneath rubble
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson