GENEVA: A man infected with H5N2 bird flu, the first confirmed human infection with the strain, died from multiple factors, the WHO said on Friday, adding that investigations were ongoing.
The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that the first laboratory-confirmed human case of infection with H5N2 avian influenza virus had been reported from Mexico.
Mexico’s health ministry said the 59-year-old man had “a history of chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes (and) long-standing systemic arterial hypertension.”
He had been bedridden for three weeks prior to the onset of acute symptoms, developing fever, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea and general malaise on April 17.
The man was taken to hospital in Mexico City on April 24 and died later that day.
“The death is a multi-factorial death, not a death attributable to H5N2,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a media briefing in Geneva on Friday.
“The patient came to the hospital after weeks of multi-factorial background of multi other diseases.”
His body was subsequently routinely tested for flu and other viruses, and H5N2 was detected, Lindmeier said.
Seventeen contacts of the case in the hospital were identified. All tested negative for influenza.
In the man’s place of residence, 12 contacts in the weeks beforehand were identified. All likewise tested negative.
“Investigations are ongoing. Serology is ongoing. That means the blood testing of contacts to see if there was any possible earlier infection,” said Lindmeier.
“At this point in time, as its multi-factorial, it’s a multi-factorial death.
“But the infection of H5N2 is being investigated to see whether he was infected by somebody visiting or by any contact with any animals before.”
The WHO said on Wednesday the source of exposure to the virus was currently unknown, though H5N2 viruses have been reported in poultry in Mexico.
Based on available information, the United Nations’ health agency assesses the current risk to the general population posed by the virus as low.
Markus Lipp, senior food safety officer at the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, explained why the risk of contracting avian influenza though eating poultry was “negligibly low.”
“In all the hundred years of avian influenza... there has not been any demonstrated food-borne transmission,” he told the briefing, via video-link from the FAO’s headquarters in Rome.
“Animal handlers, of course, who are in extremely close contact with animals may get an infection but it’s an occupational risk. It’s not a food-borne transmission.
“Humans do not have avian influenza receptors in their gastro-intestinal tract, contrary to certain animal species, as far as we know.
“So there is a very slim likelihood, just from that perspective.”
Of all the food safety risks when eating poultry, “probably the lowest risk is connected to avian influenza. There are many other microbiological risks that are more likely to cause harm to consumers if food is inadequately prepared,” he said.
First human case of H5N2 died from multiple factors: WHO
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First human case of H5N2 died from multiple factors: WHO
- Mexico’s health ministry said the 59-year-old man had “a history of chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes (and) long-standing systemic arterial hypertension“
- “The death is a multi-factorial death, not a death attributable to H5N2,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said
Protesters confront police outside Israeli consulate on 2nd night of Democratic convention
- The consulate, located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the United Center, has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October
CHICAGO: Dozens of Chicago police officers are posted outside a skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate and where a pro-Palestinian demonstration is expected Tuesday on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
Police had closed down most of the entrances to the building on Tuesday, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service, says train service is running as normal.
Meanwhile, the sites of demonstrations from the previous night were largely quiet. Thirteen people were arrested during Monday’s protests, most them related to a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center,” the city’s police superintendent said.
In downtown Chicago, security was tighter than usual — including law enforcement officers with weapons slung across their bodies — outside the office building that houses the Israeli Consulate and a major city transportation hub. Metal barricades were set up, and an officer said they were preparing for a 7 p.m. demonstration.
The consulate, located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the United Center, has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October. It is in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.
Israel supporters, including some relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, gathered earlier in the day at a pro-Israel art installation not far from the consulate to call on US leaders to continue backing Israel and pushing for the release of hostages. The art installation included giant milk cartons bearing photos of some of the hostages.
Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protesters who have descended on Chicago this week, calling them “fringe crazies” and demanding that US leaders “stand unequivocally with the state of Israel.”
More protests were planned throughout the week. However, attendance at the main rally on Monday was far below estimates of organizers who had predicted more than 20,000 would show up.
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Tuesday that the crowd was around 3,500 strong and that the vast majority of the protesters were peaceful.
However, some clashed with police, used pepper spray against them and threw water bottles at officers during the clash in the park where there was a breach in security fencing, Snelling said. He said officers did not use any chemical sprays.
“Our officers showed great restraint,” he said at a news conference. “We’re not going to tolerate vandalism and violence in our city. ... We’re going to continue to protect the city.”
Snelling said with more protests planned, his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.
“Again, we’re up to the challenge,” Snelling said. “The city is up to the challenge.”
The park where the most arrests were made, located a block from the convention arena, served as a destination point for a march of thousands calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Several dozen activists broke off from the main group, breached the fencing, and were pushed back by police.
Authorities said the inner security perimeter surrounding the United Center was not breached and there was no threat to those attending the convention.
On Tuesday morning, an extra line of fencing was installed at the park and the tall metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels. No police officers or protesters were in the park early Tuesday.
The 13 people arrested during Monday’s protest were detained on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest, to aggravated battery of police officers, Snelling said.
At least 10 of them were arrested in connection with the fence, he said.
Snelling said he did not connect those who tore down the fence with the entirety of the march. He said the vast majority of participants were peaceful, and he praised his officers’ conduct in the moment.
The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said two of the people arrested were hospitalized. Snelling said they were not taken to the hospital for injuries, but “so they could be provided the treatment they needed when it came to their medications.”
Two people were also arrested on misdemeanor property damage and resisting arrest charges during a protest march Sunday night. As of Tuesday morning, 15 people had been arrested.
Most of the largest demonstrations have been organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, which has focused on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But smaller protests have popped up around the city, during the convention’s welcome party at Navy Pier.
UK bolsters fight against migrant crossings
- Stopping the small boat arrivals was a key issue in the July 4 election, in which Labour won a thumping majority
- More than 200 people crossed the Channel in three boats on Monday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 19,294, according to Home Office figures
LONDON: The British government on Wednesday announced new measures to crack down on high numbers of asylum seekers arriving illegally on small boats from France.
It said 100 “new specialist intelligence and investigation officers” would be recruited to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to help dismantle smuggling gangs that run the dangerous crossings.
The interior ministry added that the government aims over the next six months to achieve the highest rate of deportations of failed asylum seekers for five years.
The Labour government, which won an election last month, intends to increase detention capacity at removal centers and sanction employers who hire people with no right to work in the UK, the Home Office said.
“We are taking strong and clear steps to boost our border security and ensure the rules are respected and enforced,” interior minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.
Stopping the small boat arrivals was a key issue in the July 4 election, in which Labour won a thumping majority.
Within days of taking power, Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped a controversial scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, which had been a flagship policy of the last Conservative government.
Starmer has instead pledged to dismantle the people-smuggling gangs who organize the crossings and are paid thousands of euros by each migrant.
The Home Office is recruiting a so-called Border Security Commander who will work with European countries against the people-smuggling gangs.
Starmer has also pledged with French President Emmanuel Macron to strengthen “cooperation” in handling the surge in undocumented migrant numbers.
More than 200 people crossed the Channel in three boats on Monday, taking the provisional total for the year so far to 19,294, according to Home Office figures.
This is a 10 percent increase on the number recorded last year, which was 17,620, but down on the 21,344 crossings recorded in the same period of 2022.
The Home Office said the NCA is pursuing about 70 investigations against criminal networks involved in people trafficking.
It said the government would issue financial penalty notices, business closure orders and bring possible prosecutions against anyone employing illegal workers.
The department also said it was adding 290 beds to two removal centers and redeploying staff to try to remove failed asylum seekers at the highest rate since 2018. The ministry did not give figures on the numbers involved.
Obama to anoint Harris as Democrats’ best hope at convention
CHICAGO: Barack Obama will use the Democratic convention in Chicago to anoint Kamala Harris the party’s future on Tuesday and, as the first Black and South Asian woman presidential nominee, heir to his trailblazing legacy.
Obama posted on social media that his Democratic National Convention address will lay out “what’s at stake” and why Harris and her running mate Tim Walz “should be our next president and vice president.”
The first Black person ever elected to the White House, Obama retains massive influence and is a celebrated orator.
His turn will amp up the already buoyant mood in Chicago where outgoing President Joe Biden delivered his own emotional speech late Monday.
Ahead of Obama’s blockbuster cameo, Harris’s husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, will testify to his wife’s human qualities before she symbolically accepts the nomination Thursday.
“(He) will show America the Kamala Harris only he knows. As America has seen the last few weeks, she’s joyful, she’s empathetic and she’s tough. That’s what differentiates us from the other side,” said Michael Tyler, Harris-Walz communications director.
With the party united and Harris polling strongly, Democrats are making clear they believe they can defeat Donald Trump.
The Republican candidate had seemed set to regain power in November until Biden upended the race by dropping out and endorsing his vice president.
Comparisons are already being made by Democratic faithful to Obama’s historic 2008 campaign, where a tidal wave of enthusiasm carried him to the White House.
Harris, who was received rapturously in Chicago at her debut appearance before Biden spoke, will hold a rally Tuesday in the Milwaukee basketball arena where Trump attended the Republican convention just a month ago.
The choice of the 18,000-seat arena appears to be a deliberate attempt to needle Trump, who has been clearly rattled by the fact that 59-year-old Harris, unlike Biden, is able to draw the kinds of crowds he has long attracted to his events.
Trying to pry media attention away from the Democratic convention, Trump is holding events all week and on Tuesday spoke about what he says is Harris’s “anti-police” stance.
At an event in Howell, Michigan, he attacked what he called “the Kamala crime wave.”
“You can’t walk across the street to get a loaf of bread — you get shot,” he said flanked by police officers and their cars, falsely claiming there has been a 43 percent increase in violent crime.
While allies have pleaded publicly for Trump to focus on policies and stop his barrage of personal insults against Harris, he has not stopped.
On Monday the floor belonged to Biden, who delivered a swan song after being forced to abandon his reelection bid amid deep concerns that at 81 he is too old and frail to defeat Trump.
Biden has recast what might have been a humiliating moment into a narrative of sacrifice, passing on the torch to his younger protege.
“It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more,” he said, wiping away a tear amid thunderous applause before embracing Harris.
The other star speaker Monday was Hillary Clinton, who was the first female presidential nominee of a major party in 2016, but lost to Trump in an election that opened up one of the most turbulent eras in recent US politics.
Harris, Clinton said, will be the one to break “the highest, hardest glass ceiling” in the country.
Twenty million people watched the first night of the DNC, ratings monitor Nielsen said, beating viewers for the inaugural evening of the Republican gathering that drew 18.1 million.
Local media reported that Chicago hotels housing convention attendees had received bomb threats, but city authorities did not comment.
Burundi still under ‘wave of repression’: Amnesty
NAIROBI: Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye continues to rule with an unrelenting “wave of repression” despite hopes of change when he took office four years ago, Amnesty International said Wednesday.
Human rights defenders, journalists and members of the opposition are still subject to intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and unfair prosecution, Amnesty said in a new report.
Ndayishimiye, who took power in June 2020 after the unexpected death of president Pierre Nkurunziza, has been lauded by the international community for slowly ending years of isolation under his predecessor’s chaotic and bloody rule, although concerns about rights abuses persist.
In 2015, Nkurunziza’s run for a third term in office sparked protests and a failed coup, with violence leaving at least 1,200 people dead while about 400,000 fled the country.
Amnesty said that after Ndayishimiye took the helm in one of the poorest countries on the planet, there were signs he was seeking to “loosen the stranglehold” over civil society and the media, with several rights campaigners and journalists released during his first year as president.
“The ongoing wave of repression has dashed hopes of a meaningful change in approach by the government toward civil society and of opening up space for discussion of pressing human rights issues in the country,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty regional director for East and Southern Africa.
Contacted by AFP, Burundi government spokesman Jerome Niyonzima did not comment on the substance of Amnesty’s report, instead asking for a list of “those oppressed.”
The European Union resumed financial aid to Burundi in 2022 saying there was a “new window of hope” under Ndayishimiye, following a similar decision by the United States the previous year.
But Amnesty said rights campaigners, journalists and members of civil society are still being arrested on what Chagutah said were often “spurious charges.”
It highlighted the case of Floriane Irangabiye who was sentenced in 2023 to 10 years in prison for “undermining the integrity of the national territory” over comments allegedly made in an online debate.
Irangabiye was released on Friday after two years behind bars following a surprise presidential pardon.
Five rights campaigners were also arrested in February 2023 and charged with rebellion, undermining internal state security and the functioning of public finances. Two were acquitted the following April while three were given suspended sentences and also released.
The arrests prompted the United Nations to voice alarm over the “increasing crackdown on critical voices” in Burundi.
Ahead of parliamentary elections due in 2025, Amnesty said it was calling for Ndayishimiye to take immediate action to end the repression of civic actions.
It also called on the EU and other international partners not to “drop their guard” in monitoring Burundi’s progress on human rights.
Senegal ‘agri-influencers’ seek to shake up key sector
- Agriculture represents roughly 16 percent of Senegal’s GDP, but the industry suffers from chronic underperformance
THIES, Senegal: Crouched next to a pile of fresh mangoes, Senegalese farmer Mame Abdou Diop shoots a TikTok clip hoping it will be a hit with his burgeoning social media following.
Diop, 30, is part of a new wave of agricultural entrepreneurs in the West African nation embracing online platforms to boost sales, share knowledge and carve their own path in a key economic sector.
Since 2020, Diop has run a small business managing plots of land and growing a range of crops from watermelon and mangoes to onions and beans.
But since launching on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and LinkedIn two years ago, he has seen profits soar and his client base more than double.
“I used to make videos for fun, I didn’t even know what kind of impact social media would have,” said Diop, who has amassed nearly 14,000 TikTok followers and 2,000 on Instagram.
But he soon realized the videos were “very good marketing,” he said in the village of Gadiaga, east of the capital Dakar.
Agriculture represents roughly 16 percent of Senegal’s GDP, but the industry suffers from chronic underperformance.
The new government has prioritized attaining food sovereignty, with the aim of creating more jobs in a country plagued by youth unemployment.
Senegal imports almost 70 percent of its food requirements, despite 60 percent of the labor force growing food crops, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Low productivity is due to a number of factors including a lack of quality infrastructure and technical support as well as poorly organized value chains and crop processing.
For Senegal’s young and increasingly urban, tech-savvy population, social media offers an opportunity for innovation.
Diop films himself in reels and adds his phone number to advertise his mangoes, which are sold directly to local businesses or exporters shipping to Europe or Morocco.
Buyers contact Diop by text or through social platforms, and after a price is agreed, the crops are delivered directly.
He said social media allows him to bypass costly or inefficient middlemen, reduce the price and pick, process and sell his mangoes in a day.
N’Diaye Pape, 26, a fruit juice seller in Dakar, found Diop while scrolling on Instagram and appreciates the speed of his service.
“I saw the quality. So I contacted them and they delivered on time,” he said.
Social media also allows farmers to share and monetise technical expertise, said Helene Smertnik from research firm Caribou Digital, which studied the use of social media in Senegalese agriculture in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation.
“Quite a number of people become consultants and start making a decent amount of money,” she explained.
Using a stick to transplant a row of chillies at a farm, 27-year-old Nogaye Sene explained how Instagram had helped her fledgling consultancy take off.
“I started social networking in September... to get more visibility and to find people,” she said.
“They contact me directly on Instagram. So I give them my number, then I visit their fields and now I help them with production,” she added.
Sene, who describes herself as an agri-influencer, manages plots for around a dozen clients, helping with land development, market garden production and the planting of fruit trees.
She shares videos and selfies offering tips on how to grow and harvest crops, install irrigation systems and manage farming projects.
She found the majority of her clients through Instagram, where she now has over 3,000 followers.
“There is this quite fertile ground ... in that there is this mix of youth that is more and more online and using social media both for entertainment and trade,” said Smertnik.
But the trend is in its infancy and mostly confined to urban individuals working in smaller-scale value chains, she said.
Agri-influencer and horticulture entrepreneur Adjaratou Kosse Faye is the founder of a social media cooperative sharing expertise and training with fellow producers.
What started as a small forum on the social media platform Clubhouse during the Covid pandemic is now a WhatsApp group with over 50 participants.
Faye said she had only met a handful of the members face-to-face but stressed that the group had allowed knowledge to be shared on a regional scale.
“We have farmers from Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Mali,” she said.
“I think it’s wonderful that we can trust each other and that social media has enabled us to create this network,” she added.
