First person dead of new bird flu strain had symptoms of diarrhea and fever before succumbing to virus

One person has died after contracting a strain of bird flu previously unseen in humans.

The patient, a 59-year-old man, had been hospitalised in Mexico City and was confirmed to be the first human case of the H5N2 bird flu strain , according to a statement from the WHO . This death raises concerns about a bird flu strain that has largely gone unnoticed until now.

The current bird flu outbreak affecting US cattle is caused by a different strain - H5N1. According to the WHO, no other cases of H5N2 have been identified in humans.

Authorities have not yet determined where the patient contracted the virus. This strain of avian influenza has been reported in poultry in Mexico, but the patient had no known contact with poultry or animals.

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Suffering from several pre-existing health issues, the man had been bedridden for three weeks due to other ailments before developing acute symptoms. He began experiencing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea, and general malaise on April 17.

He sought medical care on April 24, was admitted to the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases "Ismael Cosio Villegas" (INER), and passed away that same day from complications related to his condition.

The WHO said that test results of a respiratory sample collected and tested at INER on April 24 revealed an influenza A virus. The sample was sent for sequencing to the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Emerging Diseases Center for Research in Infectious Diseases (CIENI) of INER on May 8, which confirmed that the sample was positive for influenza A(H5N2).

The sample was then received at the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) of the Mexico National Influenza Centre on May 20, and analysis by RT-PCR yielded a positive result for influenza A. Sequencing of the sample on May 22 confirmed the influenza subtype as A(H5N2).

No additional cases were reported during the epidemiological investigation, the WHO said. Among the 17 contacts identified and monitored at the hospital where the patient passed away, one reported a runny nose between April 28 and 29.

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Samples taken from these hospital contacts between May 27 and 29 tested negative for influenza and SARS-CoV 2. Twelve more contacts (seven symptomatic and five asymptomatic) were identified near the patient's home.

Samples were obtained from these people for testing, and on May 28, the InDRE reported that all twelve samples from contacts near the patient's residence tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B, as determined by RT-PCR. More results are pending.

In March 2024, an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N2) was detected in a backyard poultry farm in Michoacan, which borders the State of Mexico where the patient lived.

Furthermore, in March 2024, an outbreak of low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) A(H5N2) was identified in poultry in Texcoco, State of Mexico, and a second outbreak of LPAI A(H5N2) in April in the municipality of Temascalapa in the same state. So far, it has not been possible to establish if this human case is related to the recent poultry outbreaks.