The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today that two people were infected with bird flu in September and October after an outbreak of this disease on a farm in the Spanish province of Guadalajara, which is the first cases detected in Spain.
Until now, only one case of this disease, which can be fatal, had been detected on the European continent (in the United Kingdom in 2021), while worldwide since 2003, 868 infections in humans have been confirmed, with 456 deaths.
The two cases were detected in workers at a farm where an outbreak of influenza in birds was confirmed on September 20, after which control and prevention measures were taken, the WHO said in a statement.
The Spanish Ministry of Health first confirmed the presence of the H5N1 avian influenza virus in a 19-year-old employee on September 27, and later in another 27-year-old worker on October 13 who participated in the control and cleaning measures.
Both recovered and tested negative in subsequent tests, the WHO clarified.
In its assessment of the outbreak, the organization pointed out that it is not necessary to take preventive measures on trips to or from Spain, nor health controls at airports.
He also clarified that despite the cases detected, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission (the disease is typically spread from birds to people).
The organization recalled that the disease can have different effects on those infected: some have no symptoms and others can simply suffer infections in the upper respiratory tract (cough, fever) but if the infection progresses it can degenerate into pneumonia, serious respiratory problems or even death.
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