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Person with bird flu died in Mexico, WHO says

A drone view shows the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference after the World Health Organization said a person's death was caused by the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with the A(H5N2) subtype of bird flu reported globally, and the first human infection with the H5 strain of the virus reported in Mexico, in Mexico City, Mexico June 5, 2024. (Reuters)

By Reuters | Saturday, June 8, 2024

Mexico's Health Ministry also said in a statement the source of infection had not been identified.

A person with prior health complications who had contracted bird flu died in Mexico in April and the source of exposure to the virus was unknown, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.

WHO said the current risk of bird flu virus to the general population is low.

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The 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico had been hospitalized in Mexico City and died on April 24 after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general discomfort, WHO said.

"Although the source of exposure to the virus in this case is currently unknown, A(H5N2) viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico," WHO said in a statement.

It was the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus globally and the first avian H5 virus reported in a person in Mexico, according to the WHO.

Scientists said the case is unrelated to the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in the United States that has so far infected three dairy farm workers.

Mexico's Health Ministry also said in a statement the source of infection had not been identified.

The victim had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals but had multiple underlying medical conditions and had been bedridden for three weeks, for other reasons, prior to the onset of acute symptoms, the WHO said.

Mexico's health ministry said the person had chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.

"That immediately puts a person at risk of more severe influenza, even with seasonal flu," said Andrew Pekosz, an influenza expert at Johns Hopkins University.

But how this individual got infected "is a big question mark that at least this initial report doesn't really address thoroughly."

In March, Mexico's government reported an outbreak of A(H5N2) in an isolated family unit in the country's western Michoacan state. The government said the cases did not represent a risk to distant commercial farms, nor to human health.