Ottawa: Canada has reported its first presumptive case of H5 bird flu in a human, involving a teenager in British Columbia, health authorities announced on Saturday. The teenager, who likely contracted the virus through contact with an infected bird or animal, is currently under care at a children’s hospital in the province. Health officials are investigating the source of exposure and tracing the teenager’s contacts, while Canada’s Health Minister Mark Holland confirmed the risk to the general public remains low.
“This is a rare event,” stated British Columbia Health Officer Bonnie Henry. “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C.”
The H5 bird flu strain, widespread among wild birds globally, has caused outbreaks in poultry and some cases in dairy cattle in the United States. While the virus has infected humans working in dairy and poultry settings, there is no evidence so far of human-to-human transmission. Health experts caution that, should person-to-person spread occur, it could lead to a significant health crisis.
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In early November, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged farm workers exposed to infected animals to undergo testing even if asymptomatic. Bird flu has impacted nearly 450 dairy farms across 15 U.S. states since March, and 46 human cases have been documented by the CDC since April. In Canada, British Columbia alone has reported at least 22 infected poultry farms since October, with numerous cases in wild birds.
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To date, Canada has not detected any cases of bird flu in dairy cattle, nor has the virus been found in milk samples.
