File photo for representation only
Mexico City: The health authorities in Mexico have announced the first confirmed human case of bird flu in the country.
In a statement, the Mexican Ministry of Health said that the case was recorded in the western state of Durango and involves a three-year-old girl who remains in critical condition at a hospital in the city of Torreon, in the neighboring state of Coahuila.
The statement noted that the girl initially received treatment with anti-influenza medications and that investigators are examining wild birds in the vicinity of her home to determine how she contracted the virus.
The ministry added that the risk to the general population from the virus is considered low.
The World Organization for Animal Health had announced in mid-March that the United States had reported the first outbreak of the H7N9 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm since 2017.
The highly contagious disease has spread across the globe in recent years, including in the United States, leading to the culling of hundreds of millions of poultry.
