Russia said, Saturday, its scientists had detected the first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu to humans, underlining that they had alerted the World Health Organization.
“Information about the world’s first case of transmission of the avian flu (H5N8) to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization,” the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said in televised remarks.
As such, seven workers at a poultry plant in the south of the country had been infected following an outbreak there in December.
“All seven people… are now feeling well,” said the head of Russia’s consumer health watchdog, Anna Popova.
She said that adequate measures had been quickly taken to stop the spread of infection.
There was no sign of transmission between humans, Ms Popova said, adding that the case had been reported to the World Health Organization.
Other strains of bird flu occasionally infect humans and have led to deaths – but this is the first report of the H5N8 strain being passed on.
Popova praised “the important scientific discovery,” saying “time will tell” if the virus can further mutate.
Algeria reports H5N8 bird flu on farm:
Algeria has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu on a poultry farm, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
The virus killed 50,000 birds on a farm in the town of Ain Fakroun in the northeast of the country, with the remaining 1,200 birds in the flock slaughtered, the OIE said, citing a report from Algeria’s agriculture ministry.
