Avian flu: 1 loss of life in Mexico, first human case of the H5N2 virus on the planet | EUROtoday

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Mexico reviews “the first laboratory-confirmed human case globally” of avian influenza A/H5N2 virus. This is a 59-year-old man who already suffered from a number of different diseases, 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 workplace 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 obtainable data», the United Nations well being company assesses «the present threat posed by this virus to the final inhabitants as low». The H5N2 virus is a unique subtype from the better-known H5N1 virus liable for the continued epidemic amongst dairy cattle in 9 US states, with 3 human circumstances presently linked.