H5N2 bird flu claims first human victim, reports World Health Organization

A first global case of human death due to H5N2 avian influenza was recorded in Mexico, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday June 5. “This is the first laboratory-confirmed human case of influenza A virus infection [H5N2] »underlined the UN organization in an epidemiological bulletin.

The H5N2 strain is different from that (H5N1) linked to the current epidemic in cows in the United States, and for which three human cases have been reported.

Aged 59, the person died on April 24 in a specialized institute in the Mexican capital a few hours after being hospitalized there, this Source said. The Mexican health ministry said it was a man.

On April 17, the patient developed fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise, said the WHO, which was notified of the case on May 23. He had not had ” no contact “ known with poultry or other animals but already suffered from multiple health problems, WHO noted. No other human cases of H5N2 have been reported at this time and “there is no risk for the population”, underlined the Mexican Ministry of Health. The WHO has judged this risk ” weak “.

This death comes after the discovery, in March, of cases of H5N2 in farmed poultry in the state of Michoacan, which borders the State of Mexico where the victim lived. Other cases of H5N2 were then identified, the same month, in poultry in Texcoco, in the State of Mexico, and in April in Temascalapa, in the same state.

At this stage, “it has not been possible to establish whether this first human case is linked to the recent outbreak in poultry”, however, clarified the WHO. it’s about the “first avian H5 virus infection in a person reported in Mexico”she indicated.

WHO “huge concern” about the spread of H5N1

Considered less pathogenic than H5N1, the H5N2 virus has been reported on farms in different countries around the world in recent years. No transmission to humans has until now been documented.

Concerning H5N1, there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission but the WHO announced in April its “huge concern” faced with the spread of this strain.