Mexico City: Mexico has confirmed its first human case of H5N1 avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, the country’s health ministry announced on Friday. The case involves a three-year-old girl from the northern state of Durango, who remains hospitalized in serious condition.
The infection was confirmed on Tuesday, making this the first known human case of the H5N1 strain in Mexico. Despite the severity of the case, health officials have emphasized that the virus does not currently pose a widespread risk.
“So far there is no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission,” the health ministry stated, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to assess the overall public health risk from the virus as low.
A particularly virulent strain of H5N1 has been circulating among animal populations globally since 2020, causing significant mortality in poultry and infecting a range of species including alpacas and house cats. In 2023, the virus was also detected in cattle for the first time — a development that raised concerns about its ability to jump between species.
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Durango, where the case was detected, has an economy deeply rooted in agriculture, with a heavy reliance on the cattle industry. Authorities are now closely monitoring the region to prevent any potential spread among livestock or humans.
This case follows a separate incident last year, when the WHO reported Mexico’s first laboratory-confirmed human infection with the A(H5N2) subtype of bird flu. That individual, who had no known contact with animals, later died due to underlying chronic illness, according to officials.
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Authorities have stepped up surveillance and public health efforts in the region, while reaffirming that there is currently no cause for public alarm.
