The bird flu crisis has taken a worrying turn after a landmark case of human infection was confirmed. Officials report a teen in Canada has been struck by the H5N1 virus, marking the first recorded human case in the country.
Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry announced at a press conference, following lab confirmation of the illness: “This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions.”
She highlighted the severity and rapid progression of the illness, saying: “It just reminds us that in young people this is a virus that can progress and cause quite severe illness and the deterioration that I mentioned was quite rapid.”
Symptoms began for the teen on November 2, including conjunctivitis, fever, and coughing. Following hospital admission on November 9, during an ongoing avian influenza outbreak among poultry in British Columbia, the teen tested positive for the virus.
Although there was no contact with farm birds, the patient had been exposed to household pets such as dogs, cats, and reptiles. An official investigation has been launched to determine how the teen was infected, reports Gloucestershire Live.
While the medical community is on high alert due to the unknown origin of the infection, especially after the avian disease was discovered in dairy cows in the USA earlier this year, it seems that human-to-human transmission remains unlikely. Public health officials have tested around three dozen individuals who were in close contact with the teenager and found no further infections.
The Guardian reports that the teenager is critically ill, but Canadian health authorities maintain that the risk to the wider public remains low. However, they advise those who frequently interact with birds to be vigilant.
Over the past few years, only a small number of bird flu cases in humans have been reported in the UK, but the NHS continues to urge caution when dealing with live, sick or dead birds, eggs, animal droppings, farms, feathers, raw poultry or duck. Symptoms of bird flu in humans can take several days to manifest and may include muscle aches, high temperature, shivers, headaches, coughs or shortness of breath, diarrhoea, stomach pain, chest pain, nose and gum bleeding, and conjunctivitis.