- A 59-year-old man in Mexico died from H5N2 bird flu, the first confirmed human infection of this variant.
- The man had multiple underlying medical conditions and no history of exposure to poultry or other animals.
- The WHO reported the case to the UN health body on May 23 after conducting laboratory tests.
The WHO stated that a 59-year-old, who had multiple underlying medical conditions and no history of exposure to poultry or other animals, died on April 24 after developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and nausea.
The WHO stated that the resident of the State of Mexico was hospitalized in Mexico City and died the same day. The organization added that this was the "first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally."
Mexican health authorities reported the confirmed case to the UN health body on May 23 after conducting laboratory tests. Although the source of exposure to the virus is unknown, the WHO noted that cases of H5N2 have been reported in poultry in Mexico.
The UN health body reported that H5N2 cases were detected in a backyard poultry farm in Michoacan state in March, with other outbreaks identified in the State of Mexico. However, it stated that establishing a link between the human case and the poultry infections is currently impossible, and it estimated the risk to people as "low."
In a statement, Mexico's health ministry said the person who died was a 59-year-old man with a history of chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and long-standing systemic arterial hypertension.
“There is no risk of contagion for the population,” the statement said, adding that “all samples from identified contacts (of the patient) have been negative.”
Authorities are monitoring farms near the victim’s home and have established a permanent monitoring system to detect other cases of wildlife in the area, the statement added.
A different variant of bird flu, H5N1, has been spreading for weeks among dairy cow herds in the United States, with a small number of human cases reported.
Authorities have said that none of the cases involve human-to-human infections, with the disease instead jumping from cattle to people.
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