WHO flags H9N2 in Italy
The World Health Organization issued guidance to avoid contact after a man in Italy was diagnosed with H9N2 bird flu — the reports describe it as the first recorded importation of that strain into Europe. (mirror.co.uk) Related animal‑outbreak notices in the briefing include a fresh bird‑flu confirmation in Lincolnshire after housing rules were lifted and an H5N1 outbreak in Kerala’s Kottayam district with containment measures in place. (farminguk.com) (thehindu.com)
Bird flu is a flu virus that usually spreads in birds, but it can sometimes infect people after close contact with poultry or contaminated places. Italy has now reported Europe’s first imported human case of influenza A(H9N2). (who.int) The World Health Organization said on April 10 that Italy notified it on March 21 about an adult man with avian influenza A(H9) in Lombardy. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the patient was a returning traveller from a non-European country where the virus had already been found in birds. (who.int) (ecdc.europa.eu) Italy’s Health Ministry said on March 25 that the man was medically fragile, had other illnesses, and was hospitalized after contracting the virus outside Europe. The ministry described the strain as low-pathogenicity avian influenza A(H9N2), meaning it is classified as less severe in birds than the highly pathogenic strains that can kill flocks quickly. (salute.gov.it) (who.int) The World Health Organization said the current risk to the general population from A(H9N2) remains low. It also repeated the standard advice for zoonotic influenza: avoid contact with sick or dead birds, avoid contaminated environments such as live bird markets, and practice hand and food hygiene. (who.int 1) (who.int 2) That guidance reflects how H9N2 usually behaves. The World Health Organization says human infections have been detected since 1999, usually after exposure to infected birds, and there has been no sustained human-to-human spread. (who.int) The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said this is the first human H9N2 case reported in the European Union and European Economic Area. The agency said the risk for the wider European population is very low, with higher concern limited to people who have direct exposure to infected birds or contaminated settings. (ecdc.europa.eu 1) (ecdc.europa.eu 2) Animal outbreaks are moving on a separate track. In England, mandatory housing measures for poultry were lifted on April 9, but the government kept the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone in place with mandatory biosecurity rules, and a new outbreak was then confirmed near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire on April 11. (gov.uk 1) (gov.uk 2) (farminguk.com) In Kerala, state authorities are dealing with highly pathogenic H5N1, a different bird flu subtype from H9N2. Kerala’s health guidelines call for culling, surveillance, protective equipment for responders, and monitoring of exposed people when H5N1 is confirmed in birds. (dhs.kerala.gov.in) (cdc.gov) For now, the Italy case has not changed the basic public-health message. Health agencies are treating it as a travel-linked infection, not evidence that H9N2 is spreading in Europe, while they keep watching birds, farms, and exposed people for the next signal. (who.int) (ecdc.europa.eu)
