Canada records its first case of avian flu in humans, sparking concern among experts over the increasing spread of the H5N1 virus to new species. In Belgium, specialists are warning against this virus deemed “worse” than covid-19.
A person has tested positive for avian flu for the first time in Canada, authorities reported.
The patient, a teenager, is being treated in a children’s hospital for avian flu caused by the H5 strain virus, said the Ministry of Health of British Columbia, a western Canadian province. The origin of the contagion and the teenager’s contacts are under investigation.
“This is a rare event”described the local public health official, Bonnie Henry. “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure (to the virus) here” in British Columbia, she added.
Experts worried
Avian flu is most often spotted among populations of wild birds or poultry. It was recently identified among cows, victims of an epidemic this year in the United States, and, at the end of October, in a pig – a first in this country.
Experts are concerned about the growing number of infected mammals, although cases in humans remain rare. They fear that high circulation could facilitate a mutation of the virus which would allow it to pass from one human to another.
In September, a person from the US state of Missouri tested positive for avian flu, without known contact with an infected animal, in an unprecedented manner in the country.
En Belgique, le virologue Steven Van Gucht with en garde: “It could, in a certain scenario, evolve into a new human pandemic”he spoke to our colleagues at La Derniere Heure. This virus must therefore be monitored very closely.
For his part, infectious disease specialist Yves Van Laethem believes that the H5N1 virus could be worse than covid-19: “If it becomes widespread, we should not be caught off guard because next to it, covid-19 is a small player. In the event of widespread transmission of H5N1, there would be no other solution than to close everything”he told the newspaper Le Soir.
23,000 chickens will be slaughtered
Avian flu was detected for the first time this year on an organic chicken farm in the central Netherlands, the government announced on Monday.
Some 23,000 chickens will be slaughtered from the farm located in Putten, in the center of the country, the first outbreak of avian flu since December 2023.
“Unfortunately, after a long time, we are once again dealing with a company infected with bird flu”Agriculture Minister Femke Wiersma said in a statement. “I imagine this is a big blow for the poultry farmer concerned. We are taking appropriate measures and monitoring the situation closely”she added.
A dozen other poultry farms within a three-kilometer radius of the infected site will be monitored for ten days, and a ban on the transportation of poultry within a ten-kilometer radius has been introduced, the Agriculture Ministry said.
No national measures such as poultry confinement are planned following the detection of this outbreak, but the situation remains under surveillance. The last outbreak of avian flu was also detected on a poultry farm in Putten last December.
No home yet in Belgium
During an outbreak of avian flu in 2021 and 2022, some 5.8 million poultry had to be culled, Dutch authorities said.
Note that no outbreak of avian flu has yet been detected this year in Belgium either on poultry farms or among amateur breeders, specifies the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (Afsca).
Between the start of 2023 and April 1, 2024, the WHO said it recorded a total of 889 human cases of avian flu in 23 countries, including 463 deaths, bringing the case fatality rate to 52%.
Avian flu virus H5N1 virus experts contagion infection
