First case of death in the world from a new strain of bird flu

A resident of Mexico died after contracting a new strain of bird flu. This is a strain that so far has not been discovered in a verified way in humans – this is what the World Health Organization said in recent days.According to the announcement, the 59-year-old patient was infected with the strain already in April. He suffered severe symptoms of fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general weakness. After a few days, he was admitted to a respiratory disease center in a hospital in Mexico, but unfortunately – died within a few hours due to complications in his condition. Comprehensive tests confirmed that he was indeed infected with the H5N2 bird flu. This is the first case in the world where a person will speak of this species.

 

The World Health Organization explains that several cases of disease in the breed have recently been reported among poultry in Mexico. However, according to the report, the patient had no history of contact or exposure to poultry or other animals infected with the disease, and therefore an investigation into the cause of the infection by the health officials in the country continues. The World Health Organization also wants to emphasize that the patient suffered from other underlying diseases. They also state that an epidemiological investigation was carried out among patients who stayed with the patient, and that so far no additional cases of morbidity have been reported. As you may recall, there was recently an outbreak of avian influenza of a different strain – H5N1 – in cattle herds in several states in the US, and a few cases of illness were even discovered in dairy workers.

“A serious and unusual matter”

“This is a very serious matter,” says Prof. Cyril Cohen, head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Bar-Ilan University, in response to the publications. According to him, an increase in the incidence of bird flu in the US has been documented for several years, as well as among herds of cattle, poultry and even alpacas in Asia and South Africa. However, this is the first case of death among humans from the H5N2 strain. “Until now, we assumed that only people who worked with poultry Infected people can contract the disease, but no cases of serious morbidity have been recorded as a result. Also regarding the H5N2 strain, there were several testimonies in the past in Africa among humans that caused only mild morbidity, so this case is an extremely unusual case.”

The professor emphasizes that it is important to check as soon as possible how the patient became infected, despite the fact that he was not exposed to infected poultry or animals. He also states that at this stage there is no cause for concern because the patient suffered from other underlying diseases, and that there is no evidence at this stage that the disease itself is passed from person to person.