The World Well being Group confirmed on Wednesday the first-ever fatal case of a subtype of chicken flu in Mexico.
It’s the first laboratory-confirmed human case of the H5N2 pressure of chicken flu, or avian influenza, reported globally and the first-ever reported case in Mexico.
This pressure is completely different than the chicken flu pressure that’s presently circulating in livestock in the US and has contaminated three dairy staff within the US
The Mexico affected person was a 59-year-old resident with no historical past of publicity to poultry or different animals, in accordance with the WHO.
On April 17, the affected person developed fever, nausea, diarrhoea, shortness of breath and basic malaise. They had been hospitalized on April 24 on the Nationwide Institute of Respiratory Illnesses in Mexico Metropolis and died the identical day.
The World Well being Organisation (WHO) at their headquarters in Geneva, Dec. 7, 2021.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP through Getty Photographs, FILE
The affected person's kin stated the individual had underlying circumstances they usually had been bedridden for 3 weeks for different causes previous to contracting chicken flu, the WHO stated. On Wednesday evening, Mexico's Well being Ministry stated the affected person had “a historical past of persistent kidney illness, sort 2 diabetes (and) long-term systemic arterial hypertension.”
Check outcomes finally revealed the affected person was contaminated with chicken flu subtype H5N2, which has by no means been documented in people earlier than.
No additional instances have been documented throughout well being officers' investigation, in accordance with the WHO. Of the 17 individuals the affected person got here into contact with on the hospital, one individual reported a runny nostril in late April. Samples taken from the contacts examined destructive for flu and COVID-19.
Twelve extra individuals the affected person got here into contact with — seven with signs and 5 with out — had been recognized close to the affected person's residence. Nasal samples, throat samples and blood samples had been taken from the contacts. The nostril and throat samples examined destructive for COVID-19 and outcomes from the blood samples are ongoing.
Mexico's Ministry of Well being stated in an announcement Wednesday that “all samples from recognized contacts have been destructive” for H5N2.
The WHO stated whereas a human an infection with chicken flu “has the potential for top public well being influence,” the worldwide well being company stated the present danger to the overall inhabitants is low.
Mexico's Ministry of Well being echoed the WHO in its assertion.
“The Ministry of Well being informs that there isn’t a danger of contagion for the inhabitants with the detection of the primary human case of low pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N2) in Mexico, since there isn’t a recognized supply of an infection,” the assertion learn.
Within the US, an outbreak of the H5N1 pressure has been discovered to sicken thousands and thousands of birds in addition to older dairy cows. To this point, three farmworkers have been sickened within the US, one in Texas and two in Michigan.
All three had delicate signs and have recovered or are recovering. There is no such thing as a proof of human-to-human transmission and the chance to most people is low, in accordance with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC).
“Whereas each H5N2 and H5N1 belong to the identical household of influenza A viruses, H5N1 has been identified to contaminate people for years, whereas that is the first-ever reported case of H5N2 in people,” stated Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation workplace at Boston Kids's Hospital and an ABC Information contributor. “The excellent news is that neither H5N2 nor H5N1 have demonstrated human-to-human transmission to date. Nevertheless, this primary case is a wake-up name. It reminds us that influenza viruses can evolve, and continued surveillance of those viruses in each animals and people are essential.”
