H5N2 Bird flu:
The first-ever human case of H5N2 has been reported in Mexico City, involving a 59-year-old man who died from the infection.
- Bird Flu or avian flu, is an infectious viral disease caused by the Avian Influenza A virus.
- It mainly infects and spreads among poultry and some wild birds.
- Occasionally, a form of the flu virus jumps from wild birds to poultry farms.
- It then quickly evolves into a highly pathogenic flu virus that causes a larger wave of illness and death among birds.
- Avian influenza can also infect humans due to direct contact with infected birds or contaminated environments.
H5N2 Bird flu:
- H5N2 is a subtype of the Avian Influenza A virus.
- Influenza A viruses are categorised by subtypes based on the proteins on their surfaces.
- There are 18 different hemagglutinin (H) and 11 different neuraminidase (N) subtypes, including H5N2.
- Hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein found on the surface of influenza viruses and neuraminidase is an enzyme found on the surface of the viruses that enable them to be released from the host cell.
- H5N2 has been first reported in poultry in Mexico.
