Avian flu concerns Dr. Theresa Tam as 2025 dawns

As 2025 dawns, Dr. Theresa Tam has her eyes set on H5N1 avian flu, an emerging virus that caused its first human case in Canada this year.

At the same time, Canada's chief public health officer is closely monitoring measles, a virus that was eliminated in the country more than two decades ago but is experiencing an accelerated resurgence.

The H5N1 virus, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza virus transmitted by wild birds, is on the rise worldwide. It has decimated poultry farms in Canada and infected herds of dairy cows in several American states.

However, its spread to humans is particularly worrying. What particularly concerns me is that this virus has demonstrated the ability to cause a range of clinical outcomes, from asymptomatic infection to rare cases of severe illness.Ms. Tam said in an interview.

So this is something that we really need to be very vigilant about.

Only one case in the country

The only Canadian patient with the H5N1 virus, a teenager from British Columbia, was seriously ill and hospitalized in November. Provincial health officials have still not been able to determine how the teen became infected.

No one else has contracted the virus, Tam said, which is encouraging because it suggests there has not yet been human-to-human transmission.

Although the risk to the general public is still considered low, there have been at least 65 confirmed human cases in the United States in 2024, primarily among agricultural workers. Most cases have been mild, with conjunctivitis among the symptoms.

Raise awareness among the general public

But on the same day as Ms. Tam's interview with The Canadian Press, health authorities announced the first case of serious illness in the United States — a person over 65 in Louisiana who had been in contact with birds sick in a backyard flock.

[Cela] tells me we need to do significant outreach not only to commercial poultry farms, for example, but also to people who raise chickens or other backyard birdssaid Dr. Tam. These backyard birds are exposed to wild birds carrying this H5N1 virus.

It is important to educate everyone who raises birds in Canada, not just commercial farms, to wear personal protective equipment and take biosecurity measures, she argued. It is also time, according to her, to raise awareness among the general public about avian flu.

We must handle sick or dead birds [ou] other animals with great cautionshe argued.

If in doubt, do not touch and call your local veterinarian or public health authority for advice on what to do if you have dead birds or animals in your garden or yard.

Measles and whooping cough

But it's not just new illnesses that worry Ms Tam. There is an increase in the circulation of a number of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, such as whooping coughshe clarified.

Tam said there will be nearly 170 cases of measles in Canada in 2024, compared to 59 cases last year. Many of the cases are linked to a large outbreak that began in the fall in New Brunswick and has since spread to people in Ontario through travel, she said.

The majority of those affected had not been vaccinated.

Children can be particularly affected by measles, she said. A child under the age of 5 died in Ontario this year, something that we haven't seen for a long timeand dit Mme Tam. These are truly incredible reminders of why we need to continue to get vaccinated.

Most parents have never seen measles and may not realize the seriousness of the disease because highly effective vaccines have been protecting children against measles for decades, Tam said.

Measles was declared eliminated in Canada in 1998. Cases since then can usually be traced to someone traveling and bringing the virus back from another country — and then it spreads to those who aren't vaccinated.

It is such an infectious virus that it will seek out everyone who is not vaccinatedsaid Ms. Tam. It is a serious illness. Children become very ill and sometimes need to be hospitalized.

Whooping cough is also making a comeback after being controlled by vaccination for years, Ms. Tam said. It can make young children very sick and health professionals often call it 100 day cough.

Tam said one of the factors likely to cause the resurgence of measles and whooping cough is the disruption of routine childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the programs of catching up, we have still not returned to pre-pandemic vaccination coverage levels.

COVID-19 to watch out for

Regarding COVID-19 itself, Tam said the virus continues to evolve and spread, but has not established a predictable pattern like seasonal flu or respiratory syncytial virus ( VRS).

The flu begins to increase and the activity of the VRS is high, but the number of COVID-19 infections has decreased since the fall, Ms. Tam said. We don't see them coming together into one big “triple epidemic” like we saw two years ago.

The fact remains that an increase in COVID-19 is possible this winter, and the elderly and those with underlying chronic illnesses are still particularly vulnerable to serious illness, recalled Ms. Tam.

Washing your hands, wearing a mask, and staying home when sick, as well as getting up-to-date vaccinations, continue to serve as protective layers against circulating viruses, she said.

With information from the Associated Press

With information from the Associated Press