“Land use changes can have an important impact on human health, both because we are modifying the environment, and also because they can increase our exposure to zoonotic disease,” said study co-author Paolo D”Odorico, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley in the US.

“Every formal land use change should be evaluated not only for the environmental and social impacts on resources such as carbon stocks, microclimate and water availability, but also for the potential chain reactions that could impact human health,” D’Odorico said.

H10N3 is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale was very low, the NHC added.

The man was stable and ready to be discharged from hospital. Medical observation of his close contacts had not found any other cases.