For the first time people infected with the H5N8 bird flu virus

Russia reports seven people infected with bird flu in a poultry factory.  The  WHO is informed. It is the first time that the H5N8 pathogen has been detected in humans.

 The  virus is deadly to birds.

Russia claims to have discovered the world’s first transmission of the H5N8 bird flu virus to humans. “Information on the world’s first case of bird flu (H5N8) transmission to humans has already been sent to the World Health Organization (WHO),” said the head of the Russian health authority, Anna Popova, on Saturday.

 The  seven people infected in a poultry factory felt “good”.

Avian flu, also known as avian influenza, occurs both in wild birds and repeatedly in poultry farms. In Germany, too, it has been repeatedly detected in the past, for example in several wild birds in northern Germany at the end of last year. As a rule, the virus is fatal for the birds, and a threat to humans has not yet been assumed.

Last major outbreak in Germany in 2016/17

So far only infections with the bird flu virus H5N1 were known in humans.

 The  pathogen is highly contagious to birds. Infested stocks of farm animal poultry must be completely killed and elaborately removed.

 The  last major outbreak of avian influenza in Germany and other European countries occurred in the winter of 2016/17. In the Federal Republic of Germany, hundreds of thousands of animals were culled in poultry farms to curb the action.