Three-year-old girl dies of bird flu in Mexico as WHO urges global vigilance

Mexico reports first human death from H5N1, a deadly bird flu strain with high mortality, WHO warns of severe illness

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Mexican health officials have confirmed the country’s first human fatality from the H5N1 bird flu virus, after a three-year-old girl died in the northern state of Coahuila, according to the state’s health minister.

The child passed away early Tuesday due to multiple organ failure caused by the H5N1 infection, said Coahuila Health Minister Eliud Aguirre.

"We are monitoring all individuals who had close contact with the patient and conducting tests to determine if they are infected. So far, no one has tested positive," Aguirre said.

The tragic case marks Mexico’s first recorded human death linked to the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, which the World Health Organization (WHO) says can cause severe illness and carries a high mortality rate in humans.

While infections in people are rare and usually linked to close contact with infected birds or contaminated environments, the WHO cautions that gaps in global surveillance hinder rapid response. So far in 2025, Cambodia and the United States have also reported fatalities from H5N1, including the death of a toddler in Cambodia and one adult in the U.S.

The WHO stresses that sustained human-to-human transmission has not been observed, and the virus does not currently spread easily between people. However, the agency has called for stronger international reporting and sample-sharing, citing the need for greater vigilance in monitoring the virus’s spread and evolution.