A teenager in British Columbia has tested positive for an H5 bird flu virus that may mark the country’s first case of the infection contracted locally. Health officials are scrambling to determine if the diagnosis is confirmed and where the teen was exposed. The teen is currently in the hospital, and samples were sent out to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for additional testing.
H5 viruses, particularly H5N1, are mainly associated with bird flu. They infect wild birds and even domesticated birds. Theoretically, H5N1 is said to have caused some human infections, but the danger in terms of public health is still perceived to be relatively low. However, scientists have warned that the virus may mutate, especially since the latter appears to become friendly in mammalian hosts. The ease with which the flu may transfer its genetic material to other types of influenza during the flu season has put public health officials on tenterhooks.
This came at a time when H5N1 outbreaks have been reported in the province of British Columbia where the virus has been discovered in wild birds and poultry since October. The infected farms exceed at least 22 poultry farms. Health authorities thus began culling measures infected with birds to curb spread. Other hosts for the virus are small wild mammals such as skunks and foxes. Even though their infection rates have never been traced to dairy cattle or detected in milk samples.
The cause of infection among the teen is unknown according to officials, but exposure is thought to have occurred through contact with infected birds or animals, officials guessed. However, there has yet to be any sign of human-to-human transference at present.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer for British Columbia, warns that this kind of case rarely occurs, but adds that the risk to the public remains low. Health authorities are monitoring developments closely.
It marks the first H5N1-related human infection in Canada since 2014, when a traveler was infected with the virus in China.
