H5N8 jumped from bird to human, but there’s no evidence of human-to-human transmission yet
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Russian authorities have reported the first known cases of an avian influenza virus, H5N8, passing from poultry to humans. Seven workers at a poultry plant became infected with the virus in December 2020. Scientists at the state-run Vector Institute isolated the virus strains from infected workers, said Anna Popova, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing. Russia reported the seven cases to the World Health Organization (WHO), noting that there was no evidence of human-tohuman transmission – the influenza virus jumped from infected birds into people, but it did not continue to spread from human to human. “If confirmed, this would be the first time H5N8 has infected people,” said a WHO spokesperson.