On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a four-year-old girl in West Bengal has been infected with the H9N2 bird flu virus. This is the second time bird flu has been detected in India, with the first case being detected back in 2019.
The child was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of a local hospital in February as she was facing severe breathing problems, high fever, and stomach cramps. After three months of treatment and diagnosis, the child was finally discharged from the hospital on February 28, as per the WHO.
The WHO reported that the child had been in contact with poultry both at home and nearby. None of the child’s family members or close contacts have shown any signs of respiratory illness.
For now, the WHO has not provided information about the child’s vaccination status or the specific antiviral treatments used.
The H9N2 virus generally causes mild illness in humans. However, it is one of the most common bird flu viruses found in poultry across different regions. Because of this, there is a chance that more human cases could appear in the future.
The WHO continues to monitor the situation closely and advises people to avoid direct contact with poultry to reduce the risk of infection.
Meanwhile in Australia, the supermarket chain Coles has set a limit on how many cartons of eggs customers can buy each day. Now, people can only buy two cartons per day. This rule applies to all states except Western Australia. The reason for this limit is to help stop the spread of bird flu, according to a report by Bloomberg. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said on Monday that there is no need to worry about the safety of eggs. He assured everyone that Australian eggs are safe to eat and there is no chance of contaminated eggs being sold in stores.
