Reports that a man in Mexico was the first human to die from bird flu have been exposed as a hoax.
Mexican officials have now refuted the claims and confirmed that the patient died from kidney failure, not bird flu.
During a briefing, Mexican Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer denied the WHO’s claim that the 59-year-old chronically ill man with little contact with poultry died from a new highly transmissible strain of bird flu.
According to Alcocer, the Mexican man died from a combination of underlying conditions and severe illnesses culminating in “mainly kidney and respiratory failure”.
He further urged the Mexican population to remain calm, calling the WHO’s announcement “not accurate”.
“I can point out that the statement made by the World Health Organization is pretty bad since it speaks of a fatal case [of bird flu], which was not the case,” Health Secretary Alcocer said.
He added that, despite the insinuation by the WHO, “So far, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.”
Additionally, Alcocer says that there is no evidence that anyone in contact with the man has contracted bird flu.
He further stated, “There is no reason to avoid eating chicken and its products or to be worried about