KILLER FLU
Bird flu kills man, 59, in Mexico after he became first person to contract new strain of virus
The victim had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals
THE World Health Organization has reported a human death from a new strain of bird flu.
The 59-year-old Mexico resident died on April 24 after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general discomfort.
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A WHO spokesperson said: “This is the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally, and the first A(H5) virus infection in a person reported in Mexico.
“The case had multiple underlying conditions, and the investigation by the health authorities in Mexico is ongoing to determine the likely source of exposure to the virus.”
The victim had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals, officials said.
Cases of A(H5N2) subtype of avian influenza have been reported in poultry in Mexico.
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The person had been bedridden for three weeks, for other reasons, prior to the onset of acute symptoms, WHO said.
Their underlying ailments included chronic kidney failure, diabetes and high blood pressure.
They then developed a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general discomfort.
They were hospitalised a week later but died the same day due to complications.
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The risk posed by the new strain is said to be low, and no further human cases have been reported.
People who came into contact with the virus are undergoing testing.
Urgent bird flu warning as fears of human pandemic grow after bug jumps to mammals
Bird flu has infected mammals such as seals, raccoons, bears and cattle, primarily due to contact with infected birds.
Scientists are on alert for changes in the virus that could signal it is adapting to spread more easily among humans.
An expert's view
Dr Ed Hutchinson, senior lecturer, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (MRC CVR), said:
At a time when many people’s attention has been focused on H5N1 influenza in cattle in the USA, this case is a reminder that there are lots of other influenza viruses out there that also have the potential to infect humans.
However, it is important to stress that at the moment this case was a sad but isolated incident.
At the moment there is no suggestion that this particular influenza virus has spread any further in humans.
Details of the case are still emerging, but at the moment we know that the virus was an H5N2 influenza virus, making it distinct from the H5N1 influenza viruses that are currently spreading in cattle in the USA and in birds worldwide.
Influenza viruses can exchange genes with each other, but whether or not that’s happened here will only become clear when viral sequence data are available.
For now, we know that there have been recent outbreaks of H5N2 influenza viruses in poultry in Mexico, suggesting that this case may have been related to one of those.
Exactly how the person became infected is not yet known, but although there was no record of contact with poultry this sounds like it was most likely a “spillover” infection, in which a virus that was adapted to one species of host manages to infect a member of another species (in this case a human), but is not able to transmit any further.
It’s probably significant that the person in question had multiple underlying health conditions, and had been very unwell for some time before showing signs of this infection.
This is likely to have made it easier for a virus that normally grows in birds to infect them, and unfortunately it may also led to them experiencing severe disease when they became unwell.
It’s not yet clear if the virus had to undergo any particular changes to replicate in this person (something that would definitely be required if it was to spread further in humans).
This should become clearer if the virus’ genes can be sequenced and compared to other similar viruses.
At the moment surveillance is taking place, including testing people who may have been exposed to the virus but fought off the infection to see if they show any signs of an immune response.
If there are more human infections with this virus it would become of wider concern, but for now it is a very sad but isolated case.
There are numerous types of bird flu.
A 56-year-old woman in China died after contracting H3N8 in 2023.
She is believed to caught the virus at a wet market.
In 2021, 18 people were killed by H5N6 in China, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A year later, China reported a human case of H5N1 following exposure to poultry.
The person developed critical illness and later died.
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Andrew Pekosz, an influenza expert at Johns Hopkins University, said that since 1997, H5 viruses have continuously shown a propensity to infect mammals more than any other avian influenza virus.
"So it continues to ring that warning bell that we should be very vigilant about monitoring for these infections, because every spillover is an opportunity for that virus to try to accumulate those mutations that make it better infect humans," he added.
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The symptoms of bird flu
THE main symptoms of bird flu can appear very quickly.
- A very high temperature or feeling hot or shivery
- Aching muscles
- Headache
- A cough or shortness of breath
Other early symptoms may include:
- Diarrhoea
- Sickness
- Stomach pain
- Chest pain
- Bleeding from the nose and gums
- Conjunctivitis
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