A new bird flu strain was confirmed by Chinese officials earlier on Wednesday after a 73-year-old woman reportedly died of respiratory failure earlier this month. The new strain, officially known as H10N8 bird flu virus, was not known to infect humans up until now and the World Health Organization called this development "worrisome."

Representatives from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the Nanchang-native had been infected with the new bird flu strain. The Jiangxi province health authority further explained that this is the first time H10N8 had been in humans in their official website.

H10N8 is the second latest bird flu strain to be detected in humans this 2013 in China. Earlier this year, the H7N9 bird flu strain emerged in China's mainland, infecting 140 citizens and killing 45. The country was forced to close down most of its live animal markets to keep the outbreak controlled since further studies had shown that exposure to live birds may have prompted the infection.

Timothy O'Leary, representative for the Manila regional office of the World Health Organization, confirmed that WHO authorities were working hand-in-hand with Chinese officials to study the new bird flu strain. He also shared that though the main source of the virus remains unknown, birds are already identified as the carrier agent and another human case could be possible anytime in the future.

"It's worrisome any time a disease jumps the species barrier from animals to humans. That said, the case is under investigation (by Chinese authorities) and there's no evidence of human-to-human transmission yet," told O'Leary via phone interview.

The Jiangxi health department recently confirmed that the woman suffered from severe pneumonia before passing away last December 6 in a medical institution in Nanchang. 

Some of the woman's symptoms included increased blood pressure, heart disease and a few other underlying medical problems that resulted to a weakened immunity, said the reknowned health department. The woman's medical history reflected that she had come in contact with live poultry before showing symptoms and may have caught the new bird flu strain through it.

Investigations has led the health department to believe that "no abnormalities" have been discovered in citizens who had close contact with the victim.