First confirmed human case of bird flu H5N2 has died

A man in Mexico with prior health complications has died after contracting the A(H5N2) strain of bird flu, said the World Health Organization (WHO).

This is the first human death in the world due to such kind of bird flu. The person was already suffering from various physical complications. According to the World Health Organization, the risk of contracting this virus in the general public is very low, Aljazeera reported on Thursday (June 6).

The global health agency, in a statement on Wednesday, said the 59-year-old died in Mexico City in April after developing symptoms including a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea and nausea.

Mexico’s public health department said in a statement that the man’s underlying ailments included chronic kidney failure, diabetes and high blood pressure. He sought hospital care on April 24 and died on the same day.

Initial tests showed an unidentified type of flu that subsequent weeks of lab testing confirmed was A(H5N2), the WHO said.

It was the “first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally”, the agency added._Agencies.