WHO Confirms Human Case Of Bird Flu In India: What You Need To Know

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday confirmed a four-year-old child from West Bengal was diagnosed with bird flu in late January this year. This is India’s second human infection of H9N2 bird flu, with the first reported in 2019. On 1 February, the patient was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of a local hospital due to the persistence of severe respiratory distress, recurrent high-grade fever, and abdominal cramps. The patient was eventually diagnosed with Influenza A (H9N2). It was confirmed that the boy recovered fully and was discharged from the hospital. In February, the child was finally discharged but was re-admitted on 3 March due to severe respiratory distress.

On 1 May, the patient was eventually allowed to leave the hospital while receiving oxygen support.

What is Bird flu?

Avian flu is a zoonotic infection and is transmitted through direct contact with infected animals resulting from the intrusion of birds' environment on a persistent basis. It can also be contracted indirectly from contaminated environments. The virus mutates so that it can be communicated to humans.

Though this virus only leads to mild clinical illness in healthy middle-aged adults, it may lead to respiratory complications in young children, senior citizens, and other vulnerable classes. The overall public health risk of this infection is low, however further virological implications and dangers will be uncovered as further research and assessments are conducted.

In the above case, it was reported the boy was exposed to poultry in his surroundings daily. Thus, precautions to prevent this infection include ensuring protected contact (masks, gloves, etc.) with birds and poultry or avoiding contact altogether. 

Other strains of bird flu, such as the H1N1 and H3N8 strains, are highly communicable viral infections. However, the H9N2 strain is believed to be comparatively less infectious.

Symptoms

According to IndiaToday, common symptoms of H9N2 are familiar to other viral infections. Individuals may experience fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and headache. Other symptoms could include muscle aches, fatigue, and conjunctivitis.
Advanced cases of the infection include respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, and other pulmonary complications.

According to the WHO, infection with the avian influenza virus can also be fatal.

Prevention

The World Health Organisation advises people to limit their contact with animals in regions where animal influenza viruses are known to be prevalent, such as farms and locations where live animals are sold or killed, to avoid getting infected.

It is recommended that early identification can help limit the infection and raising awareness about preventative measures will result in reducing any risk that this strain may pose to public health.