FATAL FLU
What is the new H5N2 strain of virus and who was its first human case?
A 59-year-old man died after contracting the newest bird flu strain, H5N2
THE World Health Organization confirmed that while the first confirmed human case with H5N2 succumbed to his symptoms, his death could not be directly attributed to the variant alone.
Over the last few decades, the US has experienced several widespread outbreaks of avian influenza, more commonly referred to as bird flu, but a new confirmed death just over the border has individuals wondering what to expect with the disease's newest variant, the H5N2 strain.
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What is the new H5N2 strain of bird flu virus?
H5N2 is a subtype of the Influenza A virus, a pathogen that causes the flu 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 usually do not appear to be sick, and the strain is typically mild when compared to other variants.
However, some H5N2 variants are more pathogenic than others and can cause widespread outbreaks across poultry farms, for example.
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While people who work with birds, like farmers, can be more susceptible to the disease – and are more likely to be infected – health effects are usually minimal, causing mild symptoms.
Avian influenza virus infections can, in some cases, cause:
- Mild to severe upper respiratory tract infections
- Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Encephalitis, or the inflammation of the active tissues of the brain
- Encephalopathy, or a group of conditions causing brain dysfunction, e.g. confusion, memory loss, or personality changes
Because the H5N2 virus is relatively contagious among birds and certain mammals, it can result in control measures like culling – identifying and removing – the infected animals from their respective herds.
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This, in turn, can drive up prices of poultry, eggs, and in more recent years, milk and beef, as dairy cattle have been known to also become infected with the virus.
In 2024, an outbreak of bird flu virus, called H5N1, impacted herds of dairy cows in the US and caused mild infections among a few farm workers.
In early 2022, the last time the widespread bird flu infected farms nationwide, egg prices doubled during the year.
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According to Vox, a dozen regular eggs reached a price of $4.82 by January 2023 and were significantly higher for organic, free-range, and pasture-raised chicken eggs.
Who was the first human case of H5N2 virus?
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the first confirmed human case of the H5N2 virus.
The bird flu reportedly infected a 59-year-old man in Mexico, who passed away in April 2024.
WHO reported that the Mexico International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) shared the news, confirming "a fatal case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N2) virus."
This marks the first laboratory-confirmed human case of the 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 poultry or other animals who could carry the virus.
He also reportedly had several underlying health conditions and had been on bed rest for three weeks before experiencing more severe symptoms.
On April 17, 2024, the man reportedly experienced nausea, fever, shortness of breath, and diarrhea.
He was hospitalized on April 24 and died later that day.
17 individuals who had been in contact with the man were identified and closely monitored in April and May.
Out of those 17 people, one experienced a runny nose, and all tested negative for influenza and SARS-CoV 2.
12 additional contacts, who were near the man's place of residence, also tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and influenza B.
Seven of those 12 individuals were symptomatic, while five were asymptomatic.
The H5N2 virus has also been reported in poultry in Mexico.
In March 2024, outbreaks of avian influenza – bird flu – with the A(H2N2) variant was reported in a backyard poultry farm in Michoacán, in poultry in Texcoco, and in the municipality of Temascalapa.
Still, WHO has assessed that the current risk posed by this virus to the general population of Mexico and the US is very low, and not a widespread threat to public safety and health.
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Can the H5N2 virus be treated and cured?
Avian influenza, or the 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 if any symptoms are present.
Along with antiviral treatments, doctors may prescribe patients with antibiotics to treat any secondary bacterial infections.
In severe cases, some patients have 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 individuals weary of another widespread pandemic, such as Covid-19, have also wondered whether any vaccines can 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 human-to-human transmission.
“The fact that it is H5N2, as compared to H5N1, I don’t think is meaningful in terms of representing something that is more likely to be associated with a pandemic,” Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert, said.
Offit is also the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
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“If the virus can’t reproduce itself well in the upper respiratory tract, it’s not going to be able to spread easily from human to human," 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, and not H5N2.