BC teenager with bird flu is in critical condition, provincial health officer says

The teenager, who tested positive for bird flu, is in critical condition and being treated for acute respiratory distress at BC Children’s Hospital, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Henry says the teenager, the first suspected human case of bird flu contracted in Canada, was hospitalized late Friday.

Their conditions “varied” over the weekend, Henry said, adding “our thoughts continue to be with this individual and their family.”

Henry said work underway to confirm the diagnosis and track potential sources of exposure through the BC Center for Disease Control had given her “confidence” that the teenager has H5 bird flu, also known as bird flu.

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BC detects first suspected human case of bird flu caught in Canada

Health officials in British Columbia said Saturday they are investigating what is believed to be the first human case of bird flu caught in Canada after a teenager allegedly tested positive for the disease. Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist, breaks down what that means and what precautions people can take.

She says it is likely the teenager contracted the disease from exposure to an animal or the environment, although there is a “very real possibility” the source will never be found.

Henry said privacy limits what can be said publicly about the teenager, but said he or she had no underlying medical conditions.

The teenager first went to the emergency room on Nov. 2 and was tested and sent home, but returned to the hospital days later when symptoms worsened.

Henry said contact tracing has been done on 35 to 40 of the teenager’s family members, friends and acquaintances.

“We have not identified anyone else sick with the virus in BC right now,” she said. “We don’t see right now that there is a risk of many people getting sick.”

She said the teenager was not in school during the contagious period of the disease, which roughly began on October 31, two days before the onset of symptoms.

She said the teenager has no connections to people who had recently traveled to Southeast Asia, which has seen outbreaks.

According to Henry, the teenager had no contact with birds but interacted with a number of other animals – including a dog, cats and reptiles – in the days before he became ill. Henry said tests on those animals have so far been negative for the virus.

No proven link to poultry farm outbreaks

She said no links have been found between the teenager and local farms — including the two dozen B.C. poultry farms that have suffered avian influenza outbreaks during the fall migration of wild birds. No links have been found to outbreaks occurring across the border in Washington state, she added.

Henry said the case is still being called a “presumptive positive” because it needs to be confirmed at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, which could happen later Tuesday.

Dr. Brian Conway, an infectious disease specialist, said the virus can be spread through direct contact with a sick animal, as had been the case with cattle workers in the US

“There are about 40 (human) cases that occurred in the United States with dairy cattle,” he said. “It’s (spread by) aerosol, by touch. We can take non-human examples of cats that got it from drinking the contaminated milk from an infected cow.”

Human infections rare

While bird flu infections in humans are rare, Health Canada says symptoms can range from mild to severe, potentially leading to pneumonia, organ failure and even death.

Since 1997, over 900 human cases have been reported globally, primarily in Asia and Africa, with about half of them resulting in death, according to Health Canada.

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Teenager has Canada’s first suspected case of bird flu

A teenager from B.C. is being treated at the hospital for a suspected case of bird flu, the first known case in Canada. Officials are working to find the source of exposure and follow up with any contacts.

However, the government warns that this death rate may be overestimated, as mild infections can often go undetected and underreported.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says that per 10 Nov23 places in BC – mostly commercial poultry operations – actively deal with bird flu infections.

Over 6.4 million birds in the province are estimated to have been affected.