GENEVA: A two-and-a-half-year-old lady examined constructive for H5N1 fowl flu and wanted hospital intensive care remedy in Australia after travelling to India, the World Well being Group mentioned on Friday (Jun 7).
“That is the primary confirmed human an infection attributable to avian influenza A(H5N1) virus detected and reported by Australia,” the WHO mentioned in an announcement.
“Though the supply of publicity to the virus on this case is at the moment unknown, the publicity probably occurred in India” the place the lady had travelled, and the place this group of “viruses has been detected in birds prior to now”, the UN well being company added.
The WHO assesses the present threat to the overall inhabitants posed by the virus as low.
The lady had travelled to Kolkata from Feb 12 to 29. She didn’t have any identified publicity to sick folks or animals whereas within the metropolis.
The lady returned to Australia on Mar 1 and was admitted to a hospital within the southeastern Victoria state the next day.
On Mar 4, she was transferred to an intensive care unit within the state capital Melbourne for one week, attributable to worsening signs. She left hospital after two-and-a-half weeks.
The lady examined constructive for influenza Some time in hospital, and the samples had been despatched on in April for deeper characterisation.
“Virus genetic sequence obtained from the samples confirmed the subtype A(H5N1) … which circulates in southeast Asia and has been detected in earlier human infections and in poultry,” the WHO mentioned.
The lady is reported to be nicely whereas no kin in both Australia or India have developed signs.
The Indian authorities have been notified and have began an epidemiological investigation, the company mentioned.
