In Brief

Another New Bird Flu, This Time in Taiwan

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(Image credit: Chickens via Shutterstock)

Just when cases of H7N9 seemed to be winding down, another new bird flu pops up.

This weekend, health officials in Taiwan said a 20-year old woman was found to be infected with a strain of bird flu called H6N1. This is the first time an H6N1 infection has been seen in people, health officials said.

The woman visited the hospital with flu symptoms on May 8, and received Tamiflu. She recovered, and left the hospital after three days. Thirty-six people who had close contact with the woman were also tested, but none were found to have H6N1. Health officials said they would continue to monitor the situation.

It was only a few months ago that cases of H7N9 bird flu appeared in China. Before the current outbreak, H7N9 had also never been seen in people. Now, cases of H7N9 appear to be on the decline. As of May 29 (the last time the World Health Organization provided an update about the outbreak) 132 people had fallen ill with the virus, including 37 who died.

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Rachael Rettner
Rachael Rettner
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Rachael is a Live Science contributor, and was a former channel editor and senior writer for Live Science between 2010 and 2022. She has a master's degree in journalism from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. She also holds a B.S. in molecular biology and an M.S. in biology from the University of California, San Diego. Her work has appeared in Scienceline, The Washington Post and Scientific American.