Avian influenza is on the rise in B.C. with cases of the highly pathenogenic H5N1 strain. Now, a B.C. teenager has tested presumptively positive for it, health officials said Saturday. (Jay-Dee/Shutterstock)
The Ministry of Health in British Columbia has confirmed the province’s first suspected human case of bird flu. A teenager from the Fraser Health region has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the virus and is currently receiving treatment at BC Children’s Hospital.
According to a statement from the provincial health officer, the test was conducted by the BC Centre for Disease Control. The samples have now been sent to a national microbiology lab in Winnipeg for further confirmation.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks in Victoria on Thursday, March 10, 2022. British Columbia's Ministry of Health says the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada has been detected in B.C. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Health officials are investigating the source of the infection and are working to identify anyone who may have been in contact with the teenager.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, described this as "a rare event," noting that only a small number of human cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States and internationally. She added that the most likely source of exposure for the teen is contact with an infected animal or bird, and investigations are ongoing by both public health and veterinary experts in the province.
