Bird flu, one death in Mexico. It is the world’s first human case of the H5N2 virus

Mexico reports “the first laboratory-confirmed human case globally” of avian influenza A/H5N2 virus. This is a deceased 59-year-old man who already suffered from several other illnesses and for whom no “exposure to poultry or other animals” was reported. This was communicated by the World Health Organization after the Mexican authorities reported the case to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the WHO regional office for the Americas, on May 23.

“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 specifies. «Based on available information», the United Nations health agency assesses the current risk posed by this virus to the general population as “low”. The H5N2 virus is a different subtype from the better-known H5N1 responsible for the current epidemic among dairy cattle in 9 US states, with 3 human cases currently linked.