Mexico reports first human death from H5N1 bird flu

A genetic analysis of samples of the bird flu virus from a Louisiana patient show the virus likely mutated in the patient to potentially become more transmissible to humans. (CDC / NIAID / AP via CNN Newsource)

Mexico City, Mexico — A three-year-old girl has become Mexico’s first human fatality from H5N1 bird flu, health officials said Tuesday.

The girl from the northern state of Coahuila died of multiple organ failure after infection with the virus, health secretary Eliud Aguirre said, adding that there were no other known cases of infection.

Cambodia has reported two deaths due to H5N1 this year, including that of a toddler in February who had slept and played near a chicken cage where about 15 birds died. The United States has reported one death, in January.

Infections in humans can cause severe disease with a high mortality rate, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It says human cases detected so far are mostly linked to close contact with infected birds and other animals, and contaminated environments.

“This virus does not appear to transmit easily from person to person, and sustained human-to-human transmission has not been reported,” states the WHO website.

Last year, the UN’s health body warned that patchy surveillance was hampering its ability to manage the risk to humans posed by the H5N1 strain.

The WHO called on all countries to step up surveillance and reporting in animals and humans, and for nations to share samples and genetic sequences.