Chile confirmed the first case of bird flu in humans

He Ministry of Health of Chile (Minsal) confirmed the country’s first human case of bird flu, which was reported in a 53-year-old man from the northern zone with a severe case of the flu, but who is stable within his weight.

The highest health authority explained that it was a 53-year-old man who had a severe flu, compromised lower respiratory tract, health authorities in Chile reported.

As a result of the current protocol, all cases of severe pneumonia, called severe acute respiratory infection, are looking for the causative agent, which in this case was influenza, and as it was not possible to classify it, referred to the Institute of Public Health, where it was determined that about the H5N1 virus, which is a bird virus, the Ministry of Health announced.

“The sanitary protocols established for the management of this disease were activated and appropriate tests were taken for analysis at the Institute of Public Health (ISP) which confirmed that it was bird flu,” Minsal reported.

The agency also noted that it is investigating the source of the contact and whether there is a history of other affected people in the patient’s environment. In addition, he urged the public “not to handle sick or dead birds or mammals” and urged poultry workers to “follow proper safety protocols and get vaccinated against seasonal flu.”

According to the WHO, bird flu mainly affects domestic birds and is considered very deadly.

Although it is an animal disease, it can be transmitted to people who are in contact with sick birds.

The first case of the virus bird flu reported in Latin America was registered in Ecuador in January of this year, in a 9-year-old girl living in a rural area of ​​Bolívar province.

In Chile, the first animal case was reported on March 14 in an industrial poultry facility.