Russia alerted the World Health Organisation (WHO) and said they have found the first instance of H5N8 avian flu in human beings.
The strain is highly contagious among birds but has never been found in humans. Anna Popova, Head of Russian health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said in a statement aired on TV, “Information about the world’s first case of transmission of the avian flu (H5N8) has already been sent to the World Health Organisation.” She also said that the discovery of these mutations when the virus has still not acquired the ability to transmit from human to human has given us all time to prepare for possible mutations and react adequately.
Seven workers in a poultry farm were detected and the genetic material of the strain was isolated at Vektor laboratory from them. Popova said the workers did not suffer any health consequences that were serious. The same virus was found among birds in the poultry farm in December.