Mexico reports first H5N1 bird flu case

Mexico has reported the first case of the severe H5N1 strain of avian influenza, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Friday.

The virus was detected in a wild bird in the Metepec district to the west of the capital Mexico City, the WOAH said, citing information from the Mexican authorities.

“This report represents the first isolation of an HPAI virus subtype H5N1 in Mexico, which occurred in a non-poultry bird and in one of the migratory wild bird corridors that cross the country,” it said.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly called bird flu, has killed poultry flocks in the United States and Europe this year, with experts concerned that the virus has not abated as previously during the northern hemisphere summer.

Mexico has experienced outbreaks of another bird flu strain, H7N3, in parts of the country in the past decade, including cases earlier this year.