As we approach another election cycle, the World Health Organization (WHO) has once again issued a warning about a new strain of bird flu, H5N2, that has apparently jumped to humans.
The announcement comes following the death of a 59-year-old man in Mexico, who was reportedly infected with this strain. However, given the timing and the details surrounding this case, it’s hard not to question whether we’re dealing with another episode of fear-mongering or a genuine public health concern.
The WHO’s press release paints a grim picture: a man with multiple underlying health conditions, bedridden for weeks before developing acute symptoms, tragically succumbs to this new strain of bird flu. Yet, it also states that the risk to the general population is assessed as low. So why the dramatic announcement and the global alert?
“On 23 May 2024, the Mexico IHR NFP reported to PAHO/WHO a confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N2) virus detected in a 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico who was hospitalized in Mexico City and had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals. The case had multiple underlying medical conditions. The case’s relatives reported that the case had already been bedridden for three weeks, for other reasons, prior to the onset of acute symptoms,” according to WHO.
The man’s death is undoubtedly tragic, but it’s important to remember that he was already severely ill before contracting this virus. Moreover, no other cases have been reported during the epidemiological investigation.
Out of 17 contacts identified and monitored at the hospital where the patient died, only one reported a minor symptom – a runny nose. Furthermore, twelve additional contacts near the patient’s residence were tested and all found negative for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B.
It is also worth noting that this particular strain of bird flu was found in poultry farms in Mexico as early as March 2024. Yet, there has been no established link between these outbreaks and the human case reported by WHO.
Read the rest of the press release:
On 17 April, the case developed fever, shortness of breath, diarrhoea, nausea and general malaise. On 24 April, the case sought medical attention, was hospitalized at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases “Ismael Cosio Villegas” (INER per its acronym in Spanish) and died the same day due to complications of his condition.
Results from Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) of a respiratory sample collected and tested at INER on 24 April indicated a non-subtypeable influenza A virus. On 8 May, the sample was sent for sequencing to the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Emerging Diseases Center for Research in Infectious Diseases (CIENI per its acronym in Spanish) of INER, which indicated that the sample was positive for influenza A(H5N2). On 20 May, the sample was received at the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE per its acronym in Spanish) of the Mexico National Influenza Centre, for analysis by RT-PCR, obtaining a positive result for influenza A. On 22 May, sequencing of the sample confirmed the influenza subtype was A(H5N2).
No further cases were reported during the epidemiological investigation. Of the 17 contacts identified and monitored at the hospital where the case died, one reported a runny nose between 28 and 29 April. Samples taken from these hospital contacts between 27 and 29 May tested negative for influenza and SARS-CoV 2. Twelve additional contacts (seven symptomatic and five asymptomatic) were identified near the case’s residence. Samples of pharyngeal exudate, nasopharyngeal swabs and serum were obtained from these individuals. On 28 May, the InDRE reported that all twelve samples from contacts near the patient’s residence tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B, as determined by RT-PCR. The results of the serological samples are pending.
In March 2024, a high pathogenicity avian influenza A(H5N2) outbreak was detected in a backyard poultry farm in the state of Michoacán, which borders the State of Mexico where the case was residing
Additionally, in March 2024, an outbreak of low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) A(H5N2) was identified in poultry in Texcoco, State of Mexico, and a second outbreak of LPAI A(H5N2) in April in the municipality of Temascalapa in the same state. Thus far, it has not been possible to establish if this human case is related to the recent poultry outbreaks (1).
A study describing the continuous circulation of low pathogenicity avian influenza H5N2 viruses in Mexico and spread to several other countries was published in 2022 (2).
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that Birx suggested a new target for her fear-mongering tactics: the U.S. dairy industry.
Her proposal? Weekly testing of millions of cows and dairy workers for asymptomatic bird flu. She is once again lobbying for Big Pharma.
