14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, on June 30, scientists announced the discovery of a new strain of avian flu in China. Since then, the virus has sickened 133 people, 43 of whom are now dead.
Until recently, it was believed that the newly-discovered influenza A virus, dubbed H7N9, could only be contracted by coming in close contact with poultry.
However, new evidence suggests that, under certain circumstances, the virus can also be passed from one human to another.
Thus, an article published in the British Medical Journal details the case of two patients, a father and his daughter, who both passed away after becoming infected with H7N9.
The 60-year-old man used to visit a local poultry market in Eastern China on a regular basis, so how and why he contracted the virus is not all that big of a mystery.
His 32-year-old daughter, on the other hand, did not go anywhere near poultry prior to her starting to display symptoms linked to the new and deadly strain of avian flu.
However, she did look after her father, both at home and in the hospital.
Based on this evidence, scientists suspect that the virus was transmitted from the man to the younger woman, EurekAlert reports.
More so given the fact that the genetic makeup of the viruses that killed these two people was nearly identical.
“The most likely source of infection for the daughter was her father, during the period that she cared from him whilst he was ill,” Dr. Peter Horby, now working with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Hanoi, Vietnam, believes.
“To our best knowledge, this is the first report of probable transmissibility of the novel virus person to person with detailed epidemiological, clinical, and virological data. Our findings reinforce that the novel virus possesses the potential for pandemic spread,” specialists warn.
As alarming as this piece of news might sound, researchers reassure that, at least for the time being, H7N9's ability to pass on from one human to another is “limited and non-sustainable.” Hence the fact that no outbreak has been reported thus far.
Still, they recommend that high officials and authorities work closely together and continue to monitor the situation.