“We’re playing Russian roulette with bird flu”

Prior to his death, the victim suffered from fever, respiratory distress, diarrhea and general malaise for several weeks. When he was admitted to hospital on April 24, he died later that day after coming into contact with 17 other people. When the H5N2 virus was identified, the infection was traced, but no trace of the virus was found in any of them. Not at the place of residence of the deceased among the neighbors with whom he communicated. At the moment this appears to be an isolated incident. But it served as a warning to the rest of the international community and the WHO itself that, following the Covid outbreak, there were fears of a new pandemic and avian influenza viruses were the leading candidates.

Should we worry? The World Health Organization calls for calm: “The likelihood of sustained spread of the virus between people is currently low” and therefore the risk is low.

Virologist Adolfo Garcia-Sastre of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York also doesn’t think the Mexican man’s death represents a turning point. “Avian H5 viruses have long caused sporadic infections in humans, and this is another one. Worry? no more and no less than before: we must continue to be vigilant and prepared in case the H5 viruses cause a pandemic, which may or may not happen,” he explains to ABC.

This is not a “Galician style” answer. One of the most respected authorities on new viruses, the first to reconstruct the 1918 Spanish flu virus, knows that it is difficult to make generalizations from one case and that all scenarios are possible: “Since the emergence of the H5N1 virus, for more than twenty years we have played Russian roulette with very few bullets and a lot of ammo without bullets. The distribution and number of hosts of these viruses gradually increased, but were not transmitted to humans. If the situation does not improve and this virus does not decrease in nature, then its transmission to humans is a matter of time,” he comments. How long? This is something that is not yet known.

There is little data about this H5N2 virus. Most likely, it is a descendant of avian viruses that have been circulating in poultry for many years. They are different from the H5N1 virus that originated in Asia, although the possibility that this is a new virus that is a mixture of two different H5 viruses from Mexico and Asia cannot be ruled out. “That would be a more worrisome scenario, but we won’t know until we get the sequence of the virus,” Garcia-Sastre says.

So far an isolated case

Luis Buzon, a spokesman for the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (Seimc), also does not believe the case should be of “extreme concern,” but calls for increased surveillance of farms to minimize contact of infected animals with people. He explained to Efe.

In Mexico, Health Minister Jorge Alcocer urged the population to remain calm and recalled that the deceased was a high-risk patient with diabetes and kidney problems, as well as other conditions that could hasten his death. Although your department has recommended that you seek medical attention if you experience fever, conjunctivitis (burning, itching, red eyes), cough, burning throat, difficulty breathing, or vomiting after handling sick or dead birds or other animals. Mexican health officials also recommend washing your hands when handling eggs and chicken and cooking them thoroughly.

From 2003 to April 1, a total of 889 cases of avian influenza in humans and 463 deaths were reported worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

The most common strain, known for more than 20 years, is H5N1 and accounts for the majority of identified human cases.

The last three were reported in the United States in people infected on cow farms, and where the virus was also found in unpasteurized milk. Last April, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged that the spread of the H5N1 variant among mammals and humans was “alarming” and asked for close monitoring of this evolution.

The main risk factor for human infection is contact with infected poultry, live or dead, or with contaminated environments, such as live poultry markets. Although numerous species of animals have become carriers, from seals to cattle.

Symptoms

A person who died in Mexico from the H5N2 variant had fever, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise – symptoms similar to those seen with the H5N1 strain.

They are also similar to influenza in humans and can range from a mild upper respiratory tract infection to severe pneumonia leading to acute respiratory complications.

This variability means that many mild cases cannot be identified as avian influenza.