Canada has identified its first case of H5 bird flu in one person, a teenager in the western province of British Columbia, health officials said Saturday.
That person is being treated at a children’s hospital for H5 bird flu, the provincial health department said in a statement.
The source of the transmission and any contacts are being investigated. Officials said the contamination likely came from a bird or animal.
“This is a rare event,” said British Columbia Health Officer Bonnie Henry. “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C.
H5 avian influenza is widespread in wild birds worldwide and causes outbreaks in United States poultry and dairy cows, with several recent human outbreaks in US dairy and poultry workers.
It can occasionally infect humans through close contact or a contaminated environment.
Scientists have expressed concern about the increasing number of mammals becoming infected with bird flu, even as human cases remain rare.
They fear that a high transmission rate could facilitate a mutation of the virus, which could allow it to be passed from one person to another.
So far there is no evidence of person-to-person spread. But if that were to happen, a pandemic could unfold, scientists said.
Earlier in November, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asked farm workers who have been exposed to animals with bird flu to be tested for the virus even if they have no symptoms.
Bird flu has infected nearly 450 dairy farms in 15 US states since March, and the CDC has identified 46 cases of bird flu in humans since April.
In Canada, British Columbia has identified at least 22 infected poultry farms since October, and many wild birds have tested positive, according to the province.
Canada has had no reported cases in dairy cattle and no evidence of bird flu in milk samples.
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