The latest scare-on-health authorities are a new flu virus. From a family that rarely infects humans, H9N2 has been found in a girl of 35 months in Hong Kong. The Chinese authorities have already notified the case to the World Health Organization.

The girl, who lives in Sha Tin District, has already been discharged. He had cough, fever and runny nose. Since 1999, only Hong Kong have been detected in seven cases in humans caused by influenza virus type H9 (H corresponds to the initial one of the coat protein, hemagglutinin, of which there are 16 types). But fortunately, all were mild. Just in case, authorities have recommended to avoid, if possible, contact with poultry, which are the usual focus of these viruses.

Hong Kong is one of the world sentinels for influenza. It’s in Southeast Asia, where usually start pandemics (one of the surprises of the last H1N1 is to begin in Mexico), there is a high population density and domestic birds and has the technology to identify the variants of the pathogen.