Woman becomes first person in world to die from H3N8 bird flu strain in China

A woman in China has become the first person ever to die from the H3N8 strain of bird flu.

The 56-year-old first fell ill on February 22 and was taken to the hospital with severe pneumonia in March.

The woman, from the Guangdong province, died on March 16.

She is the third person ever to be officially diagnosed with H3N8, which is one of the most common strains in birds but the likelihood of spreading to humans is low.

The World Health Organization wrote in their latest assessment of the H3N8 infection that the woman had “multiple underlying conditions”.

It added: “She had a history of exposure to live poultry before the onset of the disease, and a history of wild bird presence around her home. No close contacts of the case developed an infection or symptoms of illness at the time of reporting.”

The WHO concluded that the woman picked the illness up from a wet market where she spent time.