Chilean authorities have found the first human case of bird flu, according to the country’s health ministry on Wednesday local time.
According to a statement by the Chilean Ministry of Health, the case was found in a 53-year-old man who had severe flu symptoms, but the patient was in stable condition.
The Chilean government is also investigating the source of the infection and the people who had contact with the patient.
Chile has reported cases of H5N1 bird flu in wild animals since late last year.
Several cases in industrial-scale farms recently made the government stop the export of poultry.
Cases of bird flu on large farms have also been detected in Argentina, but Brazil, the world’s biggest exporter of poultry, is still free of infection.
Chile’s health authorities note that the virus can be transmitted from birds or marine mammals to humans, but there is no known human-to-human transmission.
Earlier this year Ecuador confirmed its first case of bird flu transmission to humans, in a 9-year-old girl.
Global health officials say the risk of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 is small, but vaccine manufacturers have prepared bird flu shots for humans as a precaution.
Source : Antara
