A teenager in British Columbia has tested positive for bird flu, marking Canada’s first confirmed human case of the H5 strain.
Authorities announced the news on Saturday, stating that the individual is currently receiving treatment at a children’s hospital in British Columbia, where specialists are closely monitoring their condition.
The provincial health department has launched an investigation to trace the infection’s source and identify any potential contacts. Health officials suspect the transmission likely originated from an animal, with British Columbia Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry stressing the unusual nature of the case.
“This is a rare event,” British Columbia Health Officer Bonnie Henry said in a statement, “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in BC”
While avian flu is typically found in wild birds and poultry, recent reports have shown the virus appearing in mammals, with outbreaks impacting various species across North America, including cattle in the United States this year. Although human cases remain infrequent, health experts have raised concerns about bird flu’s potential to mutate and spread among humans, especially as animal cases increase.
The risks associated with bird flu are heightened by the virus’s capacity to jump species, which could eventually facilitate human-to-human transmission—a development scientists worry could pose a significant public health risk.
In another case, officials in the United States recently reported an avian flu infection in a person from Missouri, notably the first instance where no direct exposure to infected animals was identified. All previous cases in the US, beginning in 2022, involved farmworkers who had direct contact with infected poultry.
While there have been occasional human cases of H5 avian flu globally, sustained human-to-human transmission has yet to be observed.
Avian influenza has affected approximately 450 dairy establishments across 15 states in the United States since March, while the CDC has documented 46 human infections since April.
In British Columbia, Canada, authorities have detected the virus in at least 22 poultry operations since October, with multiple wild birds also testing positive, as per provincial data.
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