Canada’s First Human Case of H5 Bird Flu Leaves Teen in Critical Condition

A Canadian teen has been hospitalized and is in critical condition after compact what seems to be H5N1 bird flu — the first such case detected in the country . Much is still unknown about the case , including how the teenager became infected in the first position and whether there is any jeopardy of a larger eruption .

Health official in British Columbiafirst announcedthe incident last Saturday , report that the stripling is being treated at the BC Children ’s Hospital ; on Tuesday , theyreportedthat the teenager is currently critically ill . The stripling ’s initial examination come back positivist for a strain of H5 avian influenza , though officials are still wait further tests to confirm that it ’s specifically H5N1 . It ’s the first known human case of H5 avian influenza in Canada , and could possibly be a augury that these dangerous flu computer virus are spreading further across North America .

“ Our thoughts are with this young somebody and their family during this unmanageable time , ” said Bonnie Henry , BC ’s provincial wellness officer , in a statementreleasedSaturday .

Canadian Hens

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In the past few days , extremely morbific avian influenza A strain of H5N1 have started to diffuse from birds to mammals . This twelvemonth , H5N1 has spread widely among dairy cattle and other farm animal in the United States , while there have also been46 corroborate human casesof H5N1 in the U.S. Most of these cases ( with one exception ) are thought to have channelize through touch with livestock or contaminated milk processing equipment . Right now , though , it ’s unclear if the same is unfeigned for this late showcase .

While there have been no detected dairy moo-cow H5N1 pillowcase in British Columbia to date , the computer virus has been found among wild birds and small wild mammals living in or migrating through the arena , as well as on poultry farm . Since October 2024 , H5N1 has been discover in at least 22 poultry premises in the province , consort to British Columbia health officials . It ’s potential , even likely , that the teen bewitch the computer virus through contact lens with infected birds or other animals , though we might just never know for sure .

Documented man H5N1 cases in the U.S. this year have typically been mild , though past outbreaks of H5N1 have had a important fatality rate reaching as high as 50 % . Officials have not revealed much about the teenaged dupe , except to take down they have no existing health condition that would have predispose them to spartan illness . The teenager ’s symptoms start over a calendar week earlier , initially salute as conjunctivitis ( pinkish middle ) , cough , and fever .

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H5N1 Bird Flu Is Infecting More People Than We Know

These cases of H5N1 in cows and humanity presently present a low threat to the public , wellness officials in the U.S. have antecedently read . And for now , no one in the stripling ’s immediate circle seem to be in peril . Local official have so far test three dozen recent contacts of the teen , with none having show signal of infection .

Since no potential informant of the original infection has been key yet , though , it ’s potential that others in the expanse could get infected the same mode . And the longer term risk of these outbreaks is that stress of H5N1 will eventually adapt to mammals and humans . With enough fourth dimension and bad chance , a line could pick up a compounding of mutation that would allow it to rapidly open from person to person while causing substantial illness and death — the perfect formula for a pandemic . The more these cases occur , the high the betting odds of this nightmare scenario chance sooner than later go up .

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