The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a person with prior health complications who had contracted bird flu died in Mexico in April. The source of exposure to the virus remains unknown, and the victim had no history of contact with poultry or other animals. This case marks the first human infection with the influenza A(H5N2) virus globally and the first instance of an avian H5 virus in a person in Mexico.
Scientists have investigated similar cases in the United States, where three instances of H5N1 have been reported. However, the strain responsible for the death in Mexico is different from the one currently affecting cattle in the United States. Researchers are concerned that mutations in the virus could enable it to infect a wider range of mammalian species.
