Mexico reports first human death from H5N1 bird flu

Mexico City: A three-year-old girl from western Mexico has died after contracting avian influenza A (H5N1), marking the country’s first fatal human case of the disease, health authorities confirmed. The young patient tested positive for the virus on April 1 and succumbed to respiratory complications caused by the infection at 1:35 a.m. local time (0735 GMT) on Tuesday.

Following the confirmation, local health authorities traced the girl's contacts, but no additional human cases have been reported so far, according to Xinhua news agency.

Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as bird flu, is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects birds but has also been known to infect mammals and, on rare occasions, humans. The virus poses serious health risks, ranging from mild symptoms to severe respiratory illness, and can sometimes be fatal. In some human cases, symptoms have included conjunctivitis and non-respiratory issues, though respiratory complications remain the most common and severe manifestation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 464 human deaths linked to H5N1 in 24 countries over the past two decades. Infections among humans have predominantly been associated with close contact with infected live or dead birds, or exposure to environments contaminated with the virus, such as live bird markets. In some instances, transmission from infected mammals to humans has also been documented.

Since 2022, there has been a notable rise in fatal outbreaks of H5 viruses, including H5N1, among mammals. These outbreaks have affected both land and sea mammals, including farmed fur animals, seals, sea lions, and have been detected in other wild and domestic species such as foxes, bears, otters, raccoons, cats, dogs, cows, and goats. Experts believe many additional outbreaks may have gone unreported or undetected.

Despite these developments, the H5N1 virus does not currently appear to transmit easily between humans or spread widely from person to person, based on existing evidence and global surveillance data. Nonetheless, health officials remain vigilant due to the virus's potential to mutate or recombine in ways that could alter its transmission dynamics in the future.

With IANS inputs