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Italy Confirms Europe’s First Human Case of H9N2 Avian Flu

Health agencies call the risk to the public very low.

Overview

  • Italian authorities, who announced the case Wednesday, said a young adult traveler infected outside the EU is isolated at San Gerardo Hospital in Monza.
  • Officials activated standard tracing and monitoring and report that all close contacts are identified with no secondary infections found.
  • The ECDC rates the risk to people in the EU and EEA as very low and plans to update its assessment as new data arrive.
  • H9N2 is an avian flu subtype that usually causes mild illness in people and reaches humans through contact with infected birds or contaminated environments.
  • Since 1998, 195 human H9N2 cases have been reported worldwide, mostly in Asia and Africa, with two deaths and no confirmed person-to-person spread.