China reports first human case of H10N8 bird flu

China on Wednesday confirmed a human case of H10N8, a new strain of bird flu to infect people, the world's first reported human case of the virus. A 73-year-old woman in east China's Jiangxi Province, who died of respiratory failure on Dec. 6, was later confirmed to have been carrying the H10N8 virus by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the provincial health department. The department did not mention whether her death was connected to the bird flu virus, according to the report. The woman, who was being treated in a hospital in the provincial capital of Nanchang, was diagnosed with severe pneumonia, along with high blood pressure, a neuromuscular disorder and suffered a heart attack. She had visited a live bird market. Her relatives who had been in contact with her have so far shown no abnormal symptoms. Health experts said H10N8 existed among birds, but human infection had never been reported before.