The World Health Organization confirmed that although the first human case confirmed with H5N2 succumbed to symptoms, his death could not be directly attributed to the variant alone.
Over the past few decades, the U.S. has seen several widespread outbreaks of bird flu, more commonly referred to as bird flu, but a new death confirmed just across the border has people wondering what to expect from the latest variant of the disease, the H5N2 strain.
What is the new H5N2 strain of the bird flu virus?
H5N2 is a subtype of the Influenza A virus, a pathogen that causes influenza in birds and certain mammals, including humans.
The H5N2 strain infects several different types of birds, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, and even falcons and ostriches.
Infected birds generally do not appear to be sick and the strain is generally mild when compared to other variants.
However, some H5N2 variants are more pathogenic than others and can cause widespread outbreaks on poultry farms, for example.
Read more about the H5N2 virus
Although people who work with poultry, such as farmers, may be more susceptible to the disease – and are more likely to become infected – the health effects are generally minimal, causing mild symptoms.
Bird flu virus infections can, in some cases, cause:
- Mild to severe upper respiratory tract infections
- Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Encephalitis, or inflammation of the active tissues of the brain
- Encephalopathy, or a group of conditions that cause brain dysfunction, for example, confusion, memory loss, or personality changes
Given that the H5N2 virus is relatively contagious among birds and certain mammals, it may result in control measures such as the culling – identification and removal – of infected animals from their respective herds.
This, in turn, could drive up the prices of poultry, eggs and, in more recent years, milk and beef, as dairy cattle are also known to become infected with the virus.
In 2024, an outbreak of the bird flu virus, called H5N1, affected dairy cow herds in the US and caused mild infections among some farm workers.
In early 2022, the last time widespread bird flu infected farms across the country, egg prices doubled for the year.
According to Voxa dozen regular eggs reached a price of $4.82 in January 2023 and was significantly higher for organic, free-range and pasture-raised chicken eggs.
Who was the first human case of the H5N2 virus?
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the first confirmed human case of the H5N2 virus.
Bird flu reportedly infected a 59-year-old man in Mexico, who died in April 2024.
WHO reported that Mexico’s International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) shared the news, confirming “a fatal case of human infection with the avian influenza A (H5N2) virus.”
This marks the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection “with an influenza A (H5N2) virus reported globally and the first avian H5 virus infection in a person reported in Mexico.”
The man, who was hospitalized in Mexico City, had no history of exposure to birds or other animals that could transmit the virus.
He also reportedly had several underlying health issues and was on strict bed rest for three weeks before experiencing more serious symptoms.
On April 17, 2024, the man reportedly developed nausea, fever, shortness of breath and diarrhea.
He was hospitalized on April 24 and died that day.
17 individuals who were in contact with the man were identified and closely monitored in April and May.
Of these 17 people, one had a runny nose and all tested negative for flu and SARS-CoV 2.
Another 12 contacts, who were close to the man’s place of residence, also tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B.
Seven of these 12 individuals were symptomatic, while five were asymptomatic.
The H5N2 virus has also been reported in birds in Mexico.
In March 2024, outbreaks of avian influenza – bird flu – with the A(H2N2) variant were reported in a backyard poultry farm in Michoacán, in poultry in Texcoco and in the municipality of Temascalapa.
Still, the WHO has assessed that the current risk that this virus poses to the general population of Mexico and the USA is very low and does not represent a widespread threat to public health and safety.
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Can the H5N2 virus be treated and cured?
Bird flu, or bird flu, can be treated with antiviral medications if identified early.
This includes the H5N2 virus.
Antiviral treatments work best when started as soon as symptoms appear, or even immediately after exposure to the virus – regardless of the presence of symptoms.
Along with antiviral treatments, doctors may prescribe antibiotics to patients to treat any secondary bacterial infections.
In severe cases, some patients required a ventilator or dialysis.
Human patients with bird flu are also often isolated from others to reduce the risk of spreading the flu and kept in private hospital rooms.
Many people tired of another widespread pandemic like Covid-19 have also wondered whether any vaccine could help prevent or “treat” the H5N2 variant.
As of June 2024, there are no specific vaccines to prevent H5N2 from infecting humans.
However, H5 viruses, including the H5N2 variant, rarely infect humans.
According to the CDC, H5N1 – not H5N2 – has infected “23 countries since 1997” and results in “severe pneumonia and death in about 50% of cases,” as reported by NBC.
The variant has also never caused widespread transmission between humans.
“The fact that it is H5N2, compared to H5N1, I don’t think is significant in terms of representing something that is more likely to be associated with a pandemic,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert.
Offit is also director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“If the virus cannot reproduce well in the upper respiratory tract, it will not be able to spread easily from person to person,” Offit added.
Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, also confirmed that humans should be “laser-focused” on the H5N1 variant, not H5N2.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
