Should we be worried about an epidemic risk?

Never before has a child been contaminated by the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus on the North American continent. But in less than a month, two minors in quick succession tested positive for this virus which usually infects wild birds and farmed poultry. The first, a teenager living in Victoria (Canada), was treated in critical condition on November 8 by the intensive care unit of Vancouver hospital. The second concerns a child from California (United States), diagnosed in mid-November with a milder form. In both cases, none of their relatives were infected and at present, there are no known cases of human-to-human transmission. But the proliferation of these sporadic cases across the world is forcing health authorities to maintain their surveillance.

“The situation must be taken seriously but, at the moment, it is not alarming. We are not in a pre-pandemic period”…