The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the first laboratory-confirmed fatal human case of avian influenza A(H5N2) in Mexico.
The avian influenza A (H5N2) had only previously been reported in birds.
On May 23, Mexican health officials confirmed a case of the H5N2 bird flu strain in a 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico, who had been hospitalized in Mexico City.
“This is the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus reported globally and the first avian H5 virus infection in a person reported in Mexico,” the WHO said in a statement.
It started on April 17 when the patient, who has underlying health conditions, developed a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise, the WHO said. On April 24, the patient sought medical care and was hospitalized and died the same day due to complications of his condition.
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Although the source of exposure to the virus in this case is currently unknown, A(H5N2) viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico, the WHO added.
Based on available information, the WHO said it assessed the current risk to the general population posed by this virus as low.
The bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species in several countries since 2020. The H5N1 strain was detected in U.S. dairy herds in March, and since then at least three people — all workers at farms with infected cows — have been diagnosed with bird flu, although the illnesses were considered mild.
Item 1 of 3 A drone view shows the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference after the World Health Organization said a person’s death was caused by the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with the A(H5N2) subtype of bird flu reported globally, and the first human infection with the H5 strain of the virus reported in Mexico, in Mexico City, Mexico June 5, 2024. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
[1/3]A drone view shows the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference after the World Health Organization said a person’s death was caused by the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with the A(H5N2) subtype of bird flu reported globally, and the first human infection with the… Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab Read more
June 5 (Reuters) – A person with prior health complications who had contracted bird flu died in Mexico in April and the source of exposure to the virus was unknown, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
WHO said the current risk of bird flu virus to the general population is low.
The 59-year-old resident of the State of Mexico had been hospitalized in Mexico City and died on April 24 after developing a fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general discomfort, WHO said.
“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.
It was the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with an influenza A(H5N2) virus globally and the first avian H5 virus reported in a person in Mexico, according to the WHO.
Scientists said the case is unrelated to the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in the United States that has so far infected three dairy farm workers.
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Mexico’s Health Ministry also said in a statement the source of infection had not been identified.
The victim had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals but had multiple underlying medical conditions and had been bedridden for three weeks, for other reasons, prior to the onset of acute symptoms, the WHO said.
Mexico’s health ministry said the person had chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.
“That immediately puts a person at risk of more severe influenza, even with seasonal flu,” said Andrew Pekosz, an influenza expert at Johns Hopkins University.
But how this individual got infected “is a big question mark that at least this initial report doesn’t really address thoroughly.”
In March, Mexico’s government reported an outbreak of A(H5N2) in an isolated family unit in the country’s western Michoacan state. The government said the cases did not represent a risk to distant commercial farms, nor to human health.
After the April death, Mexican authorities confirmed the presence of the virus and reported the case to the WHO, the agency said.
Mexico’s Health Ministry said there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission in the case and farms near the victim’s home were monitored.
Other people in contact with the person tested negative for bird flu, the health ministry and the WHO said.
Bird flu has infected mammals such as seals, raccoons, bears and cattle, primarily due to contact with infected birds.
Scientists are on alert for changes in the virus that could signal it is adapting to spread more easily among humans.
The United States has reported three cases of H5N1 human infection after exposure to cows since an outbreak was detected in dairy cattle in March. Two had symptoms of conjunctivitis, while the third also had respiratory symptoms.
Although the death in Mexico was not the same strain as the one that is currently infecting cattle in the United States, they are both H5 avian viruses.
Pekosz said that since 1997, H5 viruses have continuously shown a propensity to infect mammals more than any other avian influenza virus.
“So 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 said.
Australia reported its first human case of A(H5N1) infection in May, noting there were no signs of transmission. It has however found more poultry cases of H7 bird flu on farms in Victoria state.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department culled Robert Williams’ entire herd of 249 white-tailed deer. Williams, a captive deer breeder, has battled the disease for more than two years.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled eradicating the deer did not violate Robert Williams’ property rights.
It’s been more than three years since the first case of chronic wasting disease popped up on Robert Williams’ ranch in Hunt County.
The veteran rancher of more than 35 years breeds white-tailed deer on the 1,500-acre RW Trophy Ranch in Terrell — which recently saw an end to what state officials described as the largest known CWD outbreak the state of Texas “has ever seen.”
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department culled the remainder of his white-tailed deer herd last week over a duration of eight hours. But for the 85-year-old, that wasn’t his ideal solution.
‘They were cruelly slaughtered’
For almost the same amount of time that Williams has battled the disease’s presence on his ranch, he’s also battled TPWD.
After more deer tested positive for CWD, also called “zombie deer disease,” the state initiated a kill-order which Williams rejected, court papers show.
In early 2022, he sued the state in an attempt to prevent the eradication of the animals he had a permit to breed, records show. He lost the case in court earlier this year as state’s attorneys argued that, under Texas law, the public owns all white-tailed deer in the state, including those held by private breeders.
The lawsuit made its way to the Texas Supreme Court after the Houston 14th Court of Appeals upheld the state’s decision earlier this year. The high court ruled eradicating the deer did not violate Williams’ property rights — ultimately leading to the mass eradication that occurred last week.
During the May 28 event, Williams had only 249 white-tailed deer left — most of which were killed via gunshot.
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When CWD was first detected in March 2021, RW Trophy Ranch reported 637 deer in its herd inventory, according to state officials. Of the 352 deer that died in the facility and have been tested for CWD since the initial detection, 254 tested positive with a prevalence rate of 72%, USA TODAY reported.
Williams told Outdoor Life Magazine that he pleaded with officials to run the deer through chutes, similar to the method used for cattle. Instead, they shot the deer as they ran back and forth in their pens, resulting in an eight-hour operation that included processing and disposing of the deer.
“They could have mercifully killed them, and I wouldn’t have felt quite as bad about it,” Williams told Magazine. “But they were cruelly slaughtered, and those deer went crazy. They bounced off the fence, ran into each other and broke each other’s legs. They were just so shot up. That’s what burns me.”
What is chronic wasting disease?
As described by the Centers for Disease Control, chronic wasting disease is a fatal neurological condition exclusive to cervid populations, including deer, elk, and moose.
However, it could also take years for those visible symptoms to manifest, and the disease can only be confirmed through testing.
Can humans contract chronic wasting disease?
There have been no cases of chronic wasting disease in people to date, the CDC says. But it is still investigating the potential risks and advises people not to eat meat from animals that test positive for the disease.
Reported cases steadily increase in Texas
Since Jan. 1 TPWD has confirmed 198 cases, or about 25% of the 795 total cases since 2005, when the disease first arrived to Texas.
There are a number of reasons for increased case numbers, including more awareness, prompting increased sampling rates, as well as deer population growth.
What Texas counties have chronic wasting disease cases?
The disease has now spread to 30 counties in Texas, though Hunt, Uvalde and Medina counties have accumulated for more than 68% of the state’s total confirmed cases. Hunt leads at 255 cases, which does not include the recent mass culling. Counties include:
Back in January, a hunter killed a gray wolf while legally hunting coyotes in Calhoun County. The hunter claimed that he believed it to be a large coyote at the time, but after the DNR genetically tested the animal, it was found to be a gray wolf.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said they have completed their investigation into the incident and will be handing it over to the Calhoun County Prosecutor’s Office for review on Friday, June 7.
Hunting wolves is prohibited in Michigan, as wolves fall in the endangered category in the state. It is only legal to kill a wolf if they are a threat to human life.
It is standard practice to investigate possible criminal charges when it comes to the taking of animals listed as federally endangered.
While gray wolf sightings in the Lower Peninsula are rare, they aren’t impossible. The DNR said this is “an unusual case.”
The last time a gray wolf was recorded by the DNR in the Lower Peninsula was back in 2014 when a trail camera set up by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians captured a wolf.
Date:June 4, 2024Source:University of AdelaideSummary:Researchers have discovered sustained hunting by humans prevented the woolly rhinoceros from accessing favourable habitats as Earth warmed following the Last Ice Age.Share:
Researchers have discovered sustained hunting by humans prevented the woolly rhinoceros from accessing favourable habitats as Earth warmed following the Last Ice Age.
An international team of researchers, led by scientists from the University of Adelaide and University of Copenhagen, used computer modelling to make the discovery, shedding light on an aeons-old mystery.
“Using computer models, fossils and ancient DNA, we traced 52,000 years of population history of the woolly rhinoceros across Eurasia at a resolution not previously considered possible,” said lead author Associate Professor Damien Fordham, from the University of Adelaide’s Environment Institute.
“This showed that from 30,000 years ago, a combination of cooling temperatures and low but sustained hunting by humans caused the woolly rhinoceros to contract its distribution southward, trapping it in a scattering of isolated and rapidly deteriorating habitats at the end of the Last Ice Age.
“As Earth thawed and temperatures rose, populations of woolly rhinoceros were unable to colonise important new habitats opening up in the north of Eurasia, causing them to destabilise and crash, bringing about their extinction.”
An iconic species of megafauna, the woolly rhinoceros had thick skin and long fur, and it once roamed the mammoth step of northern and central Eurasia, before its extinction around 10,000 years ago.
This recent discovery, published in PNAS, contradicts previous research that found humans had no role in the extinction of the woolly rhinoceros — despite the animal co-occurring with humans for tens of thousands of years prior to its extinction.
“The demographic responses revealed by our analysis were at a much higher resolution to those captured in previous genetic studies,” said Professor Eline Lorenzen, from the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute.
“This allowed us to pinpoint important interactions that woolly rhinoceroses had with humans and document how these changed through space and time. One of these largely overlooked interactions was persistent low levels of hunting by humans, probably for food.”
Humans pose a similar environmental threat today. Populations of large animals have been pushed into fragmented and suboptimal habitat ranges due to over hunting and human land-use change.
There were 61 species of large terrestrial herbivores — weighing more than one tonne — alive in the late Pleistocene, and only eight of these exist today. Five of those surviving species are rhinoceroses.
“Our findings reveal how climate change and human activities can lead to megafauna extinctions,” said Professor David Nogues-Bravo, from the University of Copenhagen, who was a co-author of this study.
“This understanding is crucial for developing conservation strategies to protect currently threatened species, like vulnerable rhinos in Africa and Asia. By studying past extinctions, we can provide valuable lessons for safeguarding Earth’s remaining large animals.”
Materials provided by University of Adelaide. Original written by Johnny von Einem. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Damien A. Fordham, Stuart C. Brown, Elisabetta Canteri, Jeremy J. Austin, Mark V. Lomolino, Sean Haythorne, Edward Armstrong, Hervé Bocherens, Andrea Manica, Alba Rey-Iglesia, Carsten Rahbek, David Nogués-Bravo, Eline D. Lorenzen. 52,000 years of woolly rhinoceros population dynamics reveal extinction mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2024; 121 (24) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316419121
University of Adelaide. “Human activity contributed to woolly rhinoceros’ extinction.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 June 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240604132202.htm>.
