Greater surveillance. The World Health Organization confirmed this Wednesday, June 5, that a person died in Mexico after being infected with the H5N2 avian influenza virus. Already known in wild birds and poultry farms, this is a strain that until now had never been found in humans.
Influenza A viruses, which can therefore cause bird flu, tend to mutate and diversify into more or less pathogenic strains, especially depending on the animal species. The H5N2 subtype thus refers to the types of two antigens present on the surface of the virus: hemagglutinin type 5 and neuraminidase type 2.
The deceased, who was already suffering from multiple health problems, developed fever, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise on April 17, before passing away on April 24.
No contact with poultry.
“Although the source of exposure to the virus in this case is currently unknown, A(H5N2) viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico,” the WHO said in a statement. In fact, according to Mexican authorities, the victim had no contact with poultry or other animals.
However, in March an epidemiological outbreak of H5N2 avian influenza was detected in a backyard flock in the state of Michoacán. Other cases were also identified in poultry in the neighboring state of Mexico in March and April.
If, according to specialists, this person’s health condition exposed him to “a more serious risk of influenza”, his infection remains a mystery. For this reason, the authorities have established surveillance of the agricultural farms near the victim’s home and the surrounding fauna.
“Low risk
Mexico’s Ministry of Health added in a statement on Wednesday that so far there is no evidence of transmission of bird flu from one human to another.
In fact, as CNN reports, no other cases were identified among the 17 people at the hospital who had been in contact with the deceased patient. Among people who live near the latter’s home, scientists are testing blood samples to see if they can find antibodies that indicate previous infections.
However, health authorities assure: the current risk that this virus represents for the population is “low.” Other H5 subtypes are known to infect humans, but none have been shown to cause sustained spread from person to person.
However, experts are monitoring any changes in the virus that could indicate that bird flu is adapting and mutating to spread more easily among humans.
As Andrew Pekosz, a bird flu specialist at Johns Hopkins University, tells Reuters since 1997, H5 viruses have always tended to infect mammals more than any other bird flu virus. They normally circulate among birds, but occasionally they can jump to other species, including man.
A cattle epidemic in the United States
However, this strain of the virus detected in Mexico is different from the one linked to the current H5N1 epidemic among cows in the United States, which has so far infected three dairy farm workers.
In addition, other strains of bird flu have caused the deaths of several people around the world in recent years, including 18 people in China during an influenza A (H5N6) epidemic in 2021, recalls The Guardian.
In humans, avian influenza can cause mild to severe upper respiratory tract infections and can be fatal. Eye infections such as conjunctivitis, intestinal symptoms and inflammation of the brain are also possible.
Source: BFM TV
