Rise in Human Bird Flu Cases in China Shows Risk of Fast-Changing Variants: Health Experts

Rise in Human Bird Flu Cases in China Shows Risk of Fast-Changing Variants: Health Experts
A man provides water for chickens inside a greenhouse at a farm in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, China, on Nov. 17, 2019. Stringer/Reuters
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BEIJING—A jump in the number of people in China infected with bird flu this year is raising concern among experts, who say a previously circulating strain appears to have changed and may be more infectious to people.

China has reported 21 human infections with the H5N6 subtype of avian influenza in 2021 to the World Health Organization (WHO), compared with only five last year, it said.