First bird flu death in India this year reported at AIIMS New Delhi
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Bird flu outbreaks were reported across the country earlier this year, including in Haryana where experts detected the H5N8 subtype of the Avian Influenza virus. This strain is not known to infect humans.
A 12-year-old kid undergoing treatment for H5N1 Avian Influenza died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi today, marking the first bird flu death in the country this year.
As a precaution, the whole staff of AIIMS, New Delhi, has been kept in isolation.
Officials from AIIMS told the news agency ANI, "After the diagnosis, the 12-year-old child being treated in the hospital's D5 ward was discovered to be infected with H5N1 (Avian flu). Leukaemia and pneumonia were both were present in the youngster. He was sent to the AIIMS ICU in Delhi for treatment."
Influenza that affects birds is known as bird flu.
This illness can, on rare occasions, spread to people.
Several Indian states saw a sudden Pandemic of avian influenza earlier this year, owing to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Doctors say this is the first time avian flu has been transmitted to a human.
Bird flu is more deadly than Covid-19, with a 60 per cent fatality rate compared to Covid's 3% mortality rate.
According to WHO, the last human incidence of bird flu in the world occurred in Laos in October 2020.
In June of this year, China reported the first human case of avian flu.
(With inputs from agencies)