A teenager has avian flu, the Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed Wednesday, a few days after British Columbia reported a presumed positive result for the H5N1 virus.
• Also read: Avian flu: a first presumed positive case of the H5N1 virus in Canada
The young man’s hospitalized screening test was sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada, which confirmed the case.
“Genomic sequencing indicates that the virus is similar to the H5N1 avian influenza viruses originating from the ongoing poultry outbreak in British Columbia,” the government agency said in a press release.
No other cases have been identified to date. “The investigation has not yet revealed how the person was infected with bird flu,” it was also clarified.
The province said Saturday that a teenager was currently at BC Children’s Hospital due to a presumptive positive result.
An investigation is also underway on the provincial side for contact tracing as well as testing and administration of antiviral drugs to contacts in order to prevent infection.
Human infection with avian flu “is rare,” recalled the Public Health Agency of Canada. The virus is usually transmitted after “close contact” with an infected bird or animal.
“According to current data, the risk of infection with avian influenza for the general public is still low,” the agency argued.
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