Even as the H7N9 avian flu continues to spread within China, a new flu strain has already claimed one life. The Los Angeles Times reports that a new H10N8 avian flu infected at least two people last month, and one of the patients (an elderly woman) did not survive.
Though there have only been two reported infections so far, a Chinese study on the virus (published in The Lancet medical journal) warned of H10N8′s “pandemic potential.” The scientists are concerned that H10N8 could adapt to be spread directly between humans. However, there’s still no evidence to suggest either of these strains can currently be transmitted from person to person — patients are presumed to have caught the virus from contact with infected poultry. As a result, the Chinese government has culled chickens and banned the live poultry trade in an attempt to stop the spread of avian influenza.