The confirmation of the first death from bird flu
The World Health Organization (WHO) has today confirmed the first human death from bird flu worldwide. This death was detected in a laboratory in Mexico at the end of May and the victim died on April 24. The source of exposure in this particular case is not yet known, but the Mexican authorities assure that there is no risk of widespread contagion (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala /).
Details about the victim and the symptoms
The victim is a 59-year-old man who had developed symptoms such as fever, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise. He was hospitalized at a respiratory disease medical center in Mexico City and died the same day from complications related to bird flu (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de-textos-en-catala /).
Risk to the population and ongoing research
The WHO has stated that this bird flu virus poses a low risk to the general population. However, they are conducting an investigation to determine the source of exposure to the virus. Work is also underway to establish whether there are more human cases linked to this infection.
Absence of risk of contagion according to the Mexican authorities
The Mexican authorities have declared that there is no risk of contagion for the population. The country was declared free of AH5N2 bird flu last April and no case has been detected in commercial production for more than 25 years (https://www.softcatala.org/resum-de- texts-in-Catalan/).
International context
This confirmation of the first bird flu death comes at a time when the H5N1 bird flu virus has spread in dairy cows in the United States. However, there is no evidence that human infections are linked to this outbreak in cows.