- NET Web Desk
On Tuesday JUly 20, a 11-yr-old boy from Haryana succumbed at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), after getting infected with the H5N1 virus, also known ‘avian influenza’ or ‘bird flu’.
This is believed to be the first case of bird flu detected among humans in India, and also the first case of bird flu fatality in 2021. Pune’s National Institute of Virology confirmed the infection.
According to PTI sources, the samples of the boy tested negative for COVID-19, but was detected positive for influenza and H5N1 virus, as confirmed by the National Institute of Virology (NIV).
Identified as Susheel, the boy was admitted on July 2 with pneumonia and leukemia. However, a team from the National Centre for Disease Control was sent to Haryana to carry out contract tracing.
Earlier in 2021, thousands of birds were killed across the nation due to the wide infection of bird flu.
Bird Flu, is a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
As per ANI reports, the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), State Surveillance Unit, Haryana will initiate an epidemiological investigation into the first documented human case of Bird Flu.
IDSP State Surveillance Unit, Haryana will initiate an epidemiological investigation into the first documented human case of Bird Flu, an 11-year-old child from Gurugram. Animal Husbandry Department has not found any suspected cases of bird flu in the area: Govt of India
— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2021
