First case of human infection of influenza A(H5N1) virus in India has been reported on July 21, 2021. The patient was a 18 year old male from Harayana.
Symptoms observed(in June) were fever, cough, difficulty in breathing and other upper respiratory symptoms after he was given an immunosuppressive treatment for an underlying illness.
Patient’s condition further deteriorated leading to acute respitatory distress syndrome(ARDS). He was put on ventilator until he died on July 12. In investigation till now, the source of infection was not known. In further testing at AIIMS, his respiratory samples tested postive for influenza A and influenza B viruses out of all the respiratoryviruses by RT-PCR. The samples were then sent to National Institute of Virology, a WHO reference laboratory for influenza. The samples were tested positive for influenza A(H5N1) and influenza B on July 15.
It has been observed from the available information that it is very unlikely for the transmission to be human-to-human.
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