Scientists are on alert for signs the virus is adapting to spread more easily among humans, after the WHO announced the death from April

Scientists are on alert for signs the virus is adapting to spread more easily among humans, after the WHO announced the death from April

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said a man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human.

The WHO said Wednesday it wasn’t clear how the person became infected. “Although the source of exposure to the virus in this case is currently unknown, A(H5N2) viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico,” WHO said in a statement.

Scientists are on alert for changes in the virus that could signal that bird flu is adapting to spread more easily among humans.

  • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
    265·
    5 months ago

    He was previously sick, for weeks, and he wasn’t even known to have been around something to have infected him. All the stuff that we most want to know isn’t currently known about this story. Don’t overreact.:-)

      • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
        13·
        5 months ago

        Therefore it leaves open the fundamental question: can this strain of influenza infect a human with a fully-functioning or even healthy immune system?

        He seems like an outlier, not “necessarily” the start of a trend.

        But I am no doctor, and it’s just a thought.

          • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
            2·
            5 months ago

            They tested everyone he had contact with after he tested positive and couldn’t find a single positive so I’d say that remains possible but unlikely at this stage in the viruses life.

      • OpenStars@discuss.onlineEnglish
        51·
        5 months ago

        That kinda surprises me. A quick look reveals that it seems to be for similar reasons as is being done in the USA - as in, you cannot sell it that way, but ranchers on the farm do it for tradition and a tough guy act to appear strong. Well, it did not help this guy:-(.

        • Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2·
          5 months ago

          From my experience it’s because pasteurized milk used to be way less common and very expensive. People in the older generation preferred the taste of raw milk too.

    • p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world
      92·
      5 months ago

      …sounds familiar…

      This is what we were told right before COVID, and, well, everyone knows how that turned out