A man in Mexico has passed away after contracting the A(H5N2) strain of bird flu, as announced by the World Health Organization (WHO), which asserted that the threat to the general public remains minimal.

The global health authority detailed in a statement on Wednesday that the 59-year-old man succumbed in Mexico City in April following symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, and nausea.

The man’s family shared that he had already been confined to his bed for three weeks due to other health issues prior to the development of these acute symptoms.

According to a statement from Mexico’s public health department, the man had underlying health conditions, including chronic kidney failure, diabetes, and high blood pressure. He sought medical attention on April 24 and died the same day.

Preliminary tests indicated an unidentified flu strain, with lab results in the following weeks confirming it as A(H5N2), the WHO noted.

The WHO confirmed that this was the “first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally”.

Andrew Pekosz, a flu specialist from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, commented to Reuters that the man’s existing medical conditions placed him at “a risk of more severe influenza,” adding that how this person contracted the infection "is a big question mark".

The origin of the virus exposure is unknown, although instances of A(H5N2) have been spotted in poultry in Mexico, including at a backyard chicken farm in Michoacan state, near the man’s residence. However, a direct link has yet to be found.

The WHO reported that no further human cases have been detected despite testing individuals who had been in contact with the deceased both at home and in the hospital.

“Based on the available data, WHO assesses the current risk to the general population posed by this virus as low,” it stated.

Mexico’s Health Ministry also assured that there is “no risk of contagion for the population,” highlighting that “all samples from identified contacts [of the patient] have been negative”.

Authorities are keeping a close watch on farms in the vicinity of the victim’s home and have implemented a permanent surveillance system to identify other cases among wildlife in the area.

Meanwhile, a different bird flu strain, A(H5N1), has been spreading among dairy cow herds in the US for several weeks, with a few human cases reported.

Other bird flu strains have caused fatalities worldwide in the past, including 18 deaths in China during an A(H5N6) outbreak in 2021, based on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s timeline of bird flu outbreaks.

Pekosz highlighted that since 1997, H5 viruses have increased their capability to infect mammals more than any other avian influenza virus. “It continues to ring that warning bell that we should be very vigilant about monitoring for these infections because every spillover is an opportunity for that virus to try to accumulate those mutations that make it better infect humans,” Pekosz explained.