Previously, on April 17, the patient developed symptoms of fever, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, nausea, and discomfort. On April 24, he was hospitalized at the Ismael Cosio Villegas National Respiratory Institute (INER) in Mexico City and died the same day due to complications.
The patient had multiple underlying medical conditions and had been bedridden for three weeks before developing symptoms of acute respiratory illness. There were 17 contacts of the patient but no additional cases were recorded during the epidemiological investigation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a 59-year-old man died after being infected with the A(H5N2) influenza virus in Mexico. Photo: REUTERS
Mexican health authorities are investigating the source of the infection. There have been recent outbreaks of the A/H5N2 virus in poultry in the state of Mexico where the patient resides and the neighboring state of Michoacán.
"Animal influenza viruses normally circulate in animals but can also infect humans, mainly through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments," the WHO explained, adding that sporadic human cases were not unexpected.
Human cases of infection with other H5 subtypes including influenza A/H5N1, A/H5N6 and A/H5N8 have been reported previously.
Available epidemiological and virological evidence suggests that the H5 subtype A viruses from previous events are unlikely to sustain human-to-human transmission, and therefore the likelihood of human-to-human spread of A/H5N2 is currently assessed as low. However, given the ever-evolving nature of influenza viruses, WHO continues to stress the importance of global surveillance and shared risk assessments.
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