Alarm on the new bird flu strain H10N8

Chinese scientists voiced their alarm on February 5 after the new H10N8 bird flu virus killed an old woman in December 2013 and another infected with the virus in January 2014. t

>>>The first death due to H10N8 flu

According to research by Chinese scientists published in the Lancet medical journal on February 5, the H10N8 virus can infect deep into the tissues of the lungs and potentially spread among people.

China destroyed poultry in January 2014 - (Photo: Reuters)

Yuelong Shu scientist, head of research at the China Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) based in Beijing, warned: 'The potential risks of H10N8 virus should not be underestimated' .

The team analyzed H10N8 virus samples from the 73-year-old grandmother who died in Jiangxi province, China in December 2013.

The old woman was infected with H10N8 virus, leading to pneumonia, respiratory failure and death. However, Chinese scientists are still unable to elucidate why this old woman is infected with H10N8 virus.

It is known that the victim bought a chicken from the market a few days before getting sick. Scientists believe that the old woman may be infected with H10N8 before buying chickens because she does not meat the chickens and there are no signs that the chickens at this market are infected with bird flu.

The second Chinese H10N8 virus infection detected in January 2014 is a concern, AFP quoted scientist Mingbin Liu, CDC research co-author.

"This shows that the H10N8 virus continues to spread and there may be more people infected with the virus in the future ," Liu said.