India Reports First Bird Flu Death as 12-Year-Old Boy Dies at AIIMS Delhi, Staff Placed Under Isolation

New Delhi: A 12-year-old boy suffering from bird flu died at AIIMS in the national capital, official sources said on Tuesday to news agency PTI. According to the PTI report, the boy was admitted to the hospital on July 2 with pneumonia and leukaemia. He died on July 12. While undergoing treatment, tests for COVID-19 and influenza were conducted.

‘His samples tested negative for COVID-19. It came out positive for influenza but was non-typable. It was sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, where they confirmed it to be positive for H5N1 avian influenza,’ a source said.

Details of the case have been conveyed to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and their team has started contact tracing and to see if there are any more cases with similar symptoms with whom the child has come in contact, the source said.

According to a India Today report, the entire staff at AIIMS, New Delhi, has been placed in isolation as a preventative measure.

(With PTI Inputs)