The H5N2 variant has been reported in several poultry farms in Mexico; the victim was a 59-year-old man who had no history of animal contact.
The World Health Organization confirmed a fatal case in the first laboratory-confirmed human case of AH5N2 avian influenza infection in Mexico. The agency said the source of exposure to the virus in this case is still unknown.
Authorities said a 59-year-old man had died after testing positive for the AH5N2 avian flu strain. According to the WHO, he died on April 24 after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise. The person had multiple underlying medical conditions and had been bedridden for three weeks, for other reasons, before the onset of acute symptoms.
The patient, originally from the metropolitan area of Mexico City, felt unwell on April 17 but waited a week before seeking help at the hospital. However, he died the same day he was admitted, due to “complications of his condition.”
Authorities have tested 17 people in close contact with the patient at the hospital, including one who reported having a runny nose. All tested negative. At least 12 people who lived near the patient’s home, including seven with symptoms of illness, were also tested for bird flu, although all tested negative.
Authorities are now conducting blood tests to detect antibodies against the virus, which would reveal whether any had a previous infection.
The case had not been previously recorded in humans. The individual had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals, they added. The H5N2 variant has been reported in several poultry pens in Mexico. However, they warned in their alert that “a human infection caused by a new (bird flu) virus is an event that has the potential to have a high impact on public health.”
It differs from the H5N1 strain, which has spread in recent weeks to dairy cows in the United States and has sickened three people in the United States this year, raising concerns about its spread to humans. Since 2022, bird flu in the United States has infected more than 90 million chickens, more than 9,000 wild birds, 67 dairy herds, one person who was exposed to poultry, and three people who were in close contact with infected livestock.
TYT Newsroom
