A 3-year-old girl from western Mexico has died after contracting bird flu, the nation's first confirmed human case of the virus, health authorities said on Tuesday.
In a public announcement, Mexico's Health Ministry confirmed that the child died of respiratory complications caused by the infection at 1:35 a.m. local time.
The H5N1 strain of Type A influenza has been circulating among animals and occasionally affecting humans in the U.S. since early 2022. It was first identified in various bird species, but it was later detected in dairy cows for the first time in March of the previous year.
As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States has reported 70 human cases in the last year. But specialists feel that this number might be lower than actual due to gaps in detection and reporting.
Earlier this year, a Louisiana resident passed away after being hospitalized with bird flu. The patient, over 65 years old with underlying health conditions, is suspected to have acquired the virus by contact with wild birds and a contaminated backyard flock of poultry. The Louisiana Department of Health also reported no additional human cases in the region.
In Mexico, the girl had been under treatment at a hospital in the state of Coahuila. Authorities formally announced her case as the country's first human bird flu infection last Friday.
The source of the girl's exposure is still uncertain, and officials have started testing wild bird populations in the immediate area to track potential sources of the virus.
To date, health authorities have tested 38 individuals in close contact with the child, and all of them were negative for bird flu. The ministry added that the risk of further human cases is low.
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