WHO Detects Case Of H9N2 Virus In 4-Year-Old Kid In India: Know All About It

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) virus infection has been detected in a four-year-old kid in West Bengal. This is the second human infection of avian influenza A(H9N2) notified, while the first one was back in 2019, the WHO said.

The child, who suffered from severe respiratory diseases, abdominal cramps, and high-grade fever as result of being infected by bird-flu, took three months to completely recover and be discharged from the local pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), it reported.

What are avian influenza virus strains?

Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes on the basis of two proteins on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). There are 18 known HA subtypes and 11 known NA subtypes. In birds, 16 HA and 9 NA subtypes have been identified, according to the U.S Centers for Disease and Prevention Control.

Dr. Ayush Shukla, MBBS, said, "Bird flu is caused by the avian influenza virus. This virus notoriously mutates itself and so we have to name new strains such as the H1N1, which was a well known strain that caused swine flu. Similarly, H9N2 is another strain. The transmission of this flu occurs when humans come in contact with infected poultry."

"There's an in-detail epidemiological risk assessment underway but based on all the evidence at hand, the risk posed by this virus is fairly low, " he said.

Global Cases of H9N2 Virus

The U.S Centers for Disease and Prevention Control informed that "human infections with A(H9N2) viruses have been reported sporadically in more than 100 people since 1998 in China, and in Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Oman, Pakistan, and Senegal." A(H9N2) viruses have been detected in bird populations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In April, Vietnam reported its first ever case of human infection induced by the avian influenza H9N2 virus, as per a WHO report. They represent over 50 percent of all subtyped detections from live bird markets in the country, it said. 

While informing the public about the second report of avian influenza A(H9N2) virus case, WHO mentioned that "sporadic human cases could occur" with the virus proving to be one of the "most prevalent avian influenza viruses" circulating in poultry in different regions.