Geneva: One person died of bird flu in Mexico in the first confirmed case of the H5N2 strain, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
A WHO statement said the 59-year-old man, who died on April 24 due to fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea and nausea, had “no exposure to birds or other animals” and “several medical conditions.”
The Mexico City resident was hospitalized in Mexico City and died later that day.
According to the World Health Organization, this is “the first laboratory-confirmed human infection with an influenza A (H5N2) virus.”
Mexican health authorities reported the confirmed case to the United Nations Health Organization on May 23 after laboratory tests.
WHO says the source of the virus is unknown, despite the presence of H5N2 in birds in Mexico.
In March, H5N2 was detected in a backyard poultry farm in the state of Michoacán, and another virus was detected in Mexico, according to the United Nations health agency.
But he said it was not yet possible to establish a link between human disease and bird infection, and the risk to humans was “low”.
“There is no risk of infection to the public,” he said, adding that “all samples from identified contacts (patients) are negative.”
