First H5N2 bird flu death reported
The Mexican victim suffered from fever and diarrhea before succumbing to the virus, the World Health Organization said
A man has died in Mexico with a new strain of avian flu never detected in humans before, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday. Multiple strains of the virus are currently circulating in Europe and North America.
The 59-year-old male victim caught the H5N2 virus in April while he was already bedridden with “multiple underlying medical conditions,” the organization said in a statement. He quickly developed “fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise,” passing away seven days after these symptoms showed.
Other strains of avian flu – including H5N1, H5N6, and H5N8 – occasionally infect humans, with those who work in the poultry industry at particular risk. However, no human cases of H5N2 have ever been detected before.