First fatal human case of H5N2 avian flu identified – WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that one person had died in Mexico, the world's first confirmed human case of infection with the H5N2 variant of avian flu.

The patient, who died April 24 after developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea and nausea, had “no history of exposure to poultry or other animals” and “multiple medical problems “, said the WHO.

Mexican health authorities reported a confirmed case of human infection with the virus to the United Nations health body on May 23, after a 59-year-old man was taken to a hospital in Mexico City.

The WHO said this was the “first reported human case of laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H5N2) virus infection worldwide.”

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

According to the United Nations health body, cases of H5N2 affected poultry in the state of Michoacan in March, and other outbreaks were identified in the state of Mexico.

But he said it was so far impossible to establish a link between the human case and infections in poultry, estimating the risk to people as “low”.

Another bird flu variant, H5N1, has been spreading among dairy cow herds in the United States for weeks, with a small number of cases reported in humans.

But none of these cases are human-to-human infections, with the disease instead spreading from livestock to humans, authorities said.