GENEVA: A person died of bird flu in Mexico in the first confirmed case of a human infected with the H5N2 variant, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.

The 59-year old, who died on April 24 after developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea and nausea, had “no history of exposure to poultry or other animals” and “multiple underlying medical conditions”, the WHO said in a statement.

The resident of the State of Mexico was hospitalised in Mexico City and died the same day, the statement said. It was the “first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally”, the WHO added.

Mexican health authorities reported the confirmed case to the UN health body on May 23 after conducting laboratory tests.

The source of exposure to the virus was unknown, the WHO said, although cases of H5N2 have been reported in poultry in Mexico.

Mexico’s health ministry said in a statement that 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 in wildlife in the area, the statement added.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2024