Scientists are on alert for signs the virus is adapting to spread more easily among humans, after the WHO announced the death from April

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said a man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human.

The WHO said Wednesday it wasn’t clear how the person became infected. “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.

Scientists are on alert for changes in the virus that could signal that bird flu is adapting to spread more easily among humans.

  • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Scientists are on alert for changes in the virus that could signal that bird flu is adapting to spread more easily among humans.

    I should certainly hope so. I wonder if I should buy an extra package of toilet paper on my next grocery run.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        During the panic buying days, my local grocer was sold out of all canned food except hominy.

        Because people would rather starve than eat hominy.

        • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 months ago

          I volunteer at a food pantry above the mason dixon line and we always have a shelf full of the stuff. No one here knows what to do with it and when they try it, even with a recipe, they dont like it.

          • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            The store I mentioned is in the Rio Grande Valley. People here know how to cook hominy and would still rather go to the store during a pandemic and return without food than to endure hominy.

            EDIT: I didn’t buy any, either. Everyone was going for canned food and dried food like the power was gonna go out. I had better luck with frozen food. The valley treats every crisis like it’s a hurricane.

  • OpenStars@discuss.online
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    5 months ago

    He was previously sick, for weeks, and he wasn’t even known to have been around something to have infected him. All the stuff that we most want to know isn’t currently known about this story. Don’t overreact.:-)

      • OpenStars@discuss.online
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        5 months ago

        Therefore it leaves open the fundamental question: can this strain of influenza infect a human with a fully-functioning or even healthy immune system?

        He seems like an outlier, not “necessarily” the start of a trend.

        But I am no doctor, and it’s just a thought.

      • OpenStars@discuss.online
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        5 months ago

        That kinda surprises me. A quick look reveals that it seems to be for similar reasons as is being done in the USA - as in, you cannot sell it that way, but ranchers on the farm do it for tradition and a tough guy act to appear strong. Well, it did not help this guy:-(.

        • Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 months ago

          From my experience it’s because pasteurized milk used to be way less common and very expensive. People in the older generation preferred the taste of raw milk too.

    • p5yk0t1km1r4ge@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      …sounds familiar…

      This is what we were told right before COVID, and, well, everyone knows how that turned out

  • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    5 months ago

    Pre covid I remember bird flu and swine flu outbreaks, it’s nowhere near the same monster and there’s a reason this ones been progressing slowly and mostly only to those with daily prolonged contact to it. Keep an eye on it sure but it looks like more than most laypeople will be spared any huge problems.