Another Bird Flu Variant Reaches Humans: What To Know About H5N2—After First-Ever Confirmed Death

A man in Mexico died after contracting a strain of bird flu—H5N2—that has never been seen in humans before, and is separate from the strain that is ravaging U.S. dairy cattle, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, raising questions about the potential risks of another form of avian influenza reaching humans. The man, who the WHO said had “multiple underlying medical conditions,” was the world’s first laboratory-confirmed case of H5N2 in humans and Mexico’s first confirmed human H5 infection, a broader category of influenza virus types that includes the better-known H5N1 strain concerning experts and spreading globally right now. Read more