A two-year-old girl from Narasaraopet in Andhra Pradesh's Palnadu district succumbed to the H5N1 virus after consuming raw chicken.
Published Apr 02, 2025 | 11:32 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 02, 2025 | 9:09 PM
A two-year-old girl was tested positive for bird flu.
Synopsis: A two-year-old girl from Narasaraopet in Andhra Pradesh developed bird flu. It is suspected that it occurred after she consumed a piece of raw chicken meat while food was being prepared at home.
India has recorded its second human death due to bird flu after a two-year-old girl from Narasaraopet in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district succumbed to the H5N1 virus.
The child was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)Mangalagiri on 4 March after experiencing fever and difficulty in breathing. Despite receiving medical treatment, she passed away on 16 March. Given concerns about avian influenza, her swab samples were tested at the AIIMS, confirming an H5N1 infection.
This diagnosis was later corroborated by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune.
“The NIV lab in Pune has confirmed the presence of H5N1 virus in the swab,” a health official from Andhra Pradesh told South First.
Health officials learned from the child’s family that she had consumed a piece of raw chicken meat while food was being prepared at home. Soon after, she developed symptoms that led to her hospitalisation. The family also mentioned that she frequently played with domestic and stray dogs.
“When the child asked for a piece of chicken while we were cutting it, we gave it to her. She fell ill only afterwards. We have done this before, but none of us have had any health problems after eating cooked meat,” reported Eenadu newspaper.
However, the Animal Husbandry Department stated that no bird flu outbreaks had been reported in the Palnadu district.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed the child’s death due to the H5N1 influenza virus and alerted the state government. Authorities have stressed that this is the first recorded human fatality due to bird flu in Andhra Pradesh. The state government has instructed health officials across all districts to remain vigilant while assuring the public that there is no immediate cause for alarm.
4 March: The child was admitted to AIIMS Mangalagiri with fever, breathing difficulty, runny nose, fainting, diarrhoea, and appetite loss.
7 March: Swab samples tested positive for Influenza A at AIIMS VRDL.
15 March: Additional testing in Delhi raised suspicions of H5N1.
24 March: NIV Pune confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus.
Medical officials conducted a fever survey in the child’s neighbourhood, concluding that no other individuals displayed suspicious symptoms. Authorities also inspected a meat shop about a kilometre from the family’s residence but found no direct connection to the infection.
A severe outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) was reported across multiple districts of Andhra Pradesh, leading to the deaths and culling of over 5.4 lakh birds.
According to an official notification from the World Animal Health Information System (WAHIS), the outbreak has resulted in 5,37,606 reported cases, with 3,62,532 birds succumbing to the virus. An additional 1,78,050 birds have been culled as part of containment measures.
The outbreak, first detected in early January 2025, rapidly spread across poultry farms and backyard poultry units. The virus was confirmed through real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) tests conducted at NIHSAD, Bhopal.
Major outbreaks were reported in Kanuru Agraharam (Peravali Mandal), Badampudi (Ungutur Mandal), Velpuru (Tanuku), Pithapuram (Kakinada), and NR Pet (Kurnool), with tens of thousands of birds dying or being culled. Smaller outbreaks were also recorded in Anumolulanka (Krishna), Chendurthy (Gollaprolu, Kakinada), and Deeplanagar (Krishna).
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety suspended poultry egg imports from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh due to H5N1 outbreaks.
Indian Biologist and Scientist Vinod Scaria highlighted the rarity of H5N1 infections in humans, which typically occur through close contact with infected animals or the consumption of raw, contaminated animal products. Human infections, however, come with a high fatality rate.
“It would be significant to determine the lineage of the virus through genome sequencing to understand the genetic epidemiology of this outbreak. Although the location of the infection does not have an active outbreak, previous bird flu outbreaks have been reported in Andhra Pradesh,” he stated on X.
Scaria emphasised that there is no need to panic, as human infections remain rare, and effective preventive measures exist:
Scaria urged health authorities to rapidly share genome sequences from both human and animal infections related to the outbreak. “This would enable evidence-based approaches to contain the spread,” he noted.
India has previously reported human infections of bird flu, with cases involving both H5N1 and H9N2 strains. Below is a timeline of the recorded cases:
First human case of bird Flu in India (2021 – H5N1, Haryana)
On 21 July 2021, the Indian National IHR Focal Point notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the country’s first confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) in Haryana.
An 11-year-old boy from Haryana, undergoing immunosuppressive treatment for a pre-existing illness, developed fever, cough, breathing difficulties, and upper respiratory symptoms on 12 June 2021. His condition worsened, leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome, requiring mechanical ventilation. Despite medical intervention, he passed away on 12 July 2021 at AIIMS, Delhi.
The child’s family owned a butchery, but initial investigations found no reports of poultry sickness or deaths in the nearby area. The source of the infection remains unknown, and no other family members showed symptoms.
Second human case of bird flu in India (2024 – H9N2, West Bengal)
On 22 May 2024, WHO was notified of a confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) in West Bengal.
A 4-year-old child from Kolkata, previously diagnosed with hyperreactive airway disease, experienced fever and abdominal pain on 26 January 2024. The illness progressed, leading to severe respiratory distress, seizures, and high-grade fever, requiring multiple hospitalizations.
The child had exposure to poultry at home and in the surroundings, but no other family members, neighbours, or healthcare workers reported similar symptoms. This was India’s second reported human infection of H9N2, with the first case reported in 2019.
International case linked to India (2024 – H5N1, Kolkata)
In an additional case with international significance, WHO reported that a child in Australia was infected with H5N1 after travelling to Kolkata. Although this infection was not acquired in India, it raised global concerns about the potential for bird flu transmission through travel.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
