A 41-year-old man in China has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu, Reuters reported.

The man's condition was made known by the National Health Commission (NHC) in China on June 1, 2021.

He hails from the eastern province of Jiangsu and is a resident of the city of Zhenjiang.

Not revealed how he was infected

He was hospitalised on April 28 after developing a fever and other symptoms, the NHC said.

He was diagnosed as having the H10N3 avian influenza virus on May 28.

His close contacts were put under observation but no other cases were found.

The NHC did not give details on how the man had been infected with the virus.

The man was stable and ready to be discharged from hospital.

What to know about virus in poultry

No other cases of human infection with H10N3 have previously been reported globally, the NHC said.

Many different strains of avian influenza are present in China and some infect people once in a while.

Not severe strain

H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe strain of the virus in poultry.

The NHC said the strain is "not a very common virus" and the risk of it spreading on a large scale is very low.

Only around 160 isolates of the virus were reported in the 40 years to 2018.

They occurred mostly in wild birds or waterfowl in Asia and some limited parts of North America.

None had been detected in chickens so far.

Whether the virus resembles older viruses or if it is a novel mix of different viruses will require genetic data analyses.

The H7N9 strain killed around 300 people during 2016 to 2017.

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