In a statement on Tuesday, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said the flu variant was found in a 4-year-old child living in Zhumadian in the Henan Province.

The health agency said the child started to develop fever and other symptoms on April 5 and was admitted to a local medical facility five days later due to the severity of his condition.

The patient lived on a farm where he frequently came into contact with chickens, the health agency said.

Though experts said the risk of large-scale transmission is low, infections in humans can lead to viral adaptive mutations that increase the risk of rapid spreading.