Bird flu claims 11-year-old boy's life in India

The boy from Haryana state was infected with the H5N1 strain and admitted to New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences on July 2 and died on Tuesday after multi-organ failure.

India reports first death from bird flu adding to the pressure on health authorities.
AP

India reports first death from bird flu adding to the pressure on health authorities.

An 11-year-old boy has died in India from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the first such fatality in the country, highlighting a potential new risk for the world's second-most populous nation battling the coronavirus pandemic.

The boy was admitted at New Delhi's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences on July 2 and died on Tuesday after multi-organ failure, a government statement said.

Health workers treating the patient and the boy's family have been kept in isolation, and authorities have launched contact tracing, the statement said.

In Haryana, the boy's home state in India's north, the Animal Husbandry Department has not found any suspected cases of bird flu and has stepped up surveillance, it said.

India has seen more than half a dozen bird flu outbreaks in poultry in the past two decades, all of which were brought under control, with no human cases reported in the country previously.

READ MORE: China reports world's possibly first human case of H10N3 bird flu

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