The first confirmed case of infection with the H6N1 strain of the avian flu virus was registered in Taiwan, Reuters reported.
Local scientists believe that infection with the H6N1 strain is a single human incident and does not pose a major threat at the moment. It turns out, however, that the virus, like others so far discovered, undergoes mutations that can eventually cause transmission between species.
A 6-year-old woman from central Taiwan, who was hospitalized in May with flu-like symptoms and shortness of breath, contracted the H1N20 virus, according to a study published in the Thursday issue of Lancet Respiratory Medicine. Initial tests revealed an unclassified flu virus subtype, and further analyzes showed it very similar to the avian H6N1 viruses that have been circulating in Taiwan since 1972.
The woman’s body responded to treatment with the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), and she recovered.
Ho-Sheng Wu, who led the study at the Taipei Disease Control Center, considers it important that the virus mutated within the hemagglutinin protein on its surface, which allowed it to enter the human body.
The source of the infection remains unknown. The patient worked in a deli, was not abroad and had no close contact with poultry or wild birds. (PAP)