Location of Durango State (pop 1.8 million)
Credit Wikipedia
#18,405
Last yesterday Mexico's MOH announced that country's first human HPAI H5N1 infection, in a 3-year old girl from (largely agricultural) Durango State, who is currently hospitalized in serious condition and who tested positive on April 1st.
How the girl was infected is not known, although authorities are monitoring wild and synanthropic birds around the girl's home. SENASICA (MOA) reports no commercial outbreaks anywhere in the country.
Details on the genotype, and sequences, have not yet been published. Hopefully they will provide some clue as to the source of this infection. The Mexican Government Joint Communications press release follows, after which I'll have a bit more.
Ministry of Health reports detection of the first human case of avian influenza A (H5N1)
Ministry of Health | April 04, 2025 | National
www.gob.mx/salud
The Ministry of Health reports the detection of the first human case of avian influenza A (H5N1) in Mexico.
The case occurred in a three-year-old girl, resident in Durango state. On April 1, the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) confirmed the result to Influenza A (H5N1). The patient initially received treatment with oseltamivir and is currently hospitalized in a third-level unit in the city of Torreón and her condition is reported serious.
Once the case was confirmed, the following actions were implemented immediately:
Health
- Notification to the World Health Organization, in accordance with the protocol established for it in the International Health Regulations.
- Health personnel from the Durango and Coahuila Health Services were trained in relation to the National guide for the preparation, prevention and response to an outbreak or event by zoonotic influenza in the animal-human interface.
- Intentional search of cases with suspected viral respiratory disease began.
Semarnat - Conanp
Agriculture - Senasica
- Biological tours and samplings of wild and synanthropic birds were carried out in the area of influence surrounding the home of the positive case of avian influenza A (H5N1), and a permanent monitoring system was established for the timely detection of other similar cases in wildlife that inhabits the place.
The Ministry of Health informs the population:
- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the National Service of Health, Safety and Agri-Food Quality (Senasica), reported that so far no commercial production units affected by avian influenza A (H5N1) have been reported in any area of the country ; however, Senasica continues with active epidemiological surveillance actions, in order to timely identify any case that may arise, and if so, the corresponding national and international protocols will be implemented.
The WHO considers that the public health risk of this virus for the general population is low, so the consumption of well-cooked chicken or egg meat does not represent a danger to human health. Zoonotic influenza is a disease that can be transmitted from birds or other animals to humans. So far there is no evidence of sustained person-to-person transmission.
The Ministry of Health has a strategic reserve of 40 thousand oseltamivir treatments.
The population is recommended:
The Ministry of Health recommends requesting medical attention in case of fever, conjunctivitis (burning, itching, red eyes), cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, bleeding or disturbances of consciousness, after contact with birds or other sick or dead animals.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water or 70 percent alcohol-based solutions.
- Use mouth covers in case of respiratory symptoms and ventilate spaces.
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
- Wash hands before handling cooked food and after handling raw food.
- Properly cook chicken and egg meat (greater than 70 ° C)
- Do not use the same utensils to handle raw and cooked food.
- Avoid touching or approaching wild animals.
- Do not handle or collect dead animals.
- Do not touch sick or dead poultry or poultry for unknown reasons.
- Wear gloves, mouth covers and protective clothing if you work on farms or slaughterhouses and have contact with birds or other animals, their products and waste.
- Monitor possible data of disease or abnormal death in farm or backyard animals and notify the authorities immediately.
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YouTube: Mexico Health Secretariat
As we've discussed (ad nauseum) over the years, detecting sporadic cases of H5 infection often involves a bit of luck, and it is likely that some (perhaps many) go unreported; even in countries with well-equipped and functioning public health systems.
First, an infected person must become sick enough to seek medical care, which - depending on the flu strain - may exclude > 90% of infections. They then must have access to modern medical care, an option not available to > 40% of the world's population, and then be lucky enough to be properly tested for novel influenza.
In this case, no details are provided on the onset of the patient's illness, how many hospitals or clinics were visited, or how long it took to establish HPAI H5 as the cause.
As we saw last June, when Mexico announced the death of a 58-year-old man (who also suffered from serious comorbidities) who tested positive for the HPAI H5N2 virus, it can sometimes be a circuitous route.
The patient died in the hospital on April 24th, but H5N2 wasn't identified until two weeks later (May 8th). Notification of WHO/PAHO occurred on May 23rd, after another 2 week delay. No source of the virus was ever determined.
A demonstration of how difficult picking up novel flu infections can be; even in a big city hospital, and during a time of increased awareness (see CDC HAN: Accelerated Subtyping of Influenza A in Hospitalized Patients).
Two years ago, in UK Novel Flu Surveillance: Quantifying TTD, UK health authorities released HPAI H5 Technical Briefing #3, which modeled the TTD (Time to Detect) community spread of HPAI H5 under 3 different scenarios (in the UK).Assuming a relatively low R0 of 1.2, it could take 2 to 3 months before community spread would become apparent. In rural, or resource scarce regions of the world, presumably even longer.
A reminder that no news isn't necessarily a sign that nothing is happening, and that anything we say about the threat from H5N1 must carry an implied asterisk.
A disclaimer that says, ` * based on available, and likely incomplete, information. . . '.
