Moscow-Sana
The Russian authorities announced today the discovery of the first human case of a new type of bird flu, the H5N8 virus.
Russia Today's website quoted the head of the Russian Federal Authority for the Protection of Consumer Rights, Anna Popova, as saying in a press statement that the experts of the (Victor) State Center for Virology and Biotechnology discovered the genetic material for the mentioned strain in seven employees of the poultry factory located in the south of the country that was monitored. An outbreak of bird flu in it late last year.
Popova confirmed that these infected people were in good condition and recovered relatively quickly and did not show any tangible symptoms despite the experts monitoring changes in the patients' bodies and the response of their immunity to infection, pointing out that the rapid measures allowed to prevent the spread of the virus in the aforementioned factory.
Popova explained that these infections are the first recorded cases of infection in humans with the H5N8 strain in the world, adding that this strain is not yet able to transmit from one person to another, but its continued mutation may lead to that.
The Russian official stressed that this provides the whole world with time to prepare to face this challenge and address it in the appropriate form and time.
For his part, the head of the (Victor) Center, Rinat Maxiotov, said in an interview with Russian Channel One that the rapid detection of the outbreak allows immediate work to develop a vaccine and tests to diagnose infections with the new strain.