Canadian teen with suspected bird flu is in critical condition

A Canadian teenager is currently in critical condition after contracting a suspected case of H5N1 bird flu, a British Columbia health official announced on Tuesday.

Canada’s First Bird Flu Case in a Human

While officials have released few details about the patient, the teenager who had been previously healthy, began experiencing symptoms over a week ago, including eye redness, cough and fever. The teen has been hospitalized with a respiratory illness since Friday in Vancouver.

According to officials, initial testing indicated the infection is from bird flu and believe it is the Type A H5N1 bird flu but are awaiting confirmation. It would mark Canada’s first human case of avian influenza.

H5N1, a strain widely present in wild birds and poultry across the United States and Canada, has led to isolated cases in humans, particularly among farmworkers, though most cases report only mild symptoms.

While it’s not clear how the teenager picked up the virus, Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s health officer, stated that there is no evidence pointing to direct contact with infected animals, raising concerns over potential unknown transmission sources.

More Bird Flu Cases

As officials await test confirmation, the case has underscored the unpredictable nature of H5N1 transmission, particularly as the virus circulates in wildlife and humans across North America.

In Canada, health authorities have conducted tests on roughly three dozen people who had close contact with the patient, none of whom have shown signs of infection. The case, located in the Fraser Valley area, has intensified monitoring of migratory patterns and bird populations, as the virus has been identified in various wild birds and animals in the region.

This development comes as part of a broader pattern of H5N1 infections across North America, which has affected not only birds but also various mammals including dairy cattle, foxes, skunks and marine mammals.

In the U.S., there have been 46 confirmed human cases of bird flu during the 2024 outbreak as of last week, according to the CDC. Nearly all of those infected were exposed to either cattle or poultry. Only one case in Missouri had an unknown source.

The new CDC study suggests that the virus has infected more humans than previously reported. As of this week, bird flu has been detected in 10,528 wild birds, roughly 105.2 million poultry and 443 dairy herds.

What Is Bird Flu?

Concerns over the bird flu comes after an outbreak in the U.S. in multiple states of the virus in mid-March, with several infections in dairy and poultry workers being detected in the months that followed.

Bird flu viruses may spread from infected birds to other animals and humans. While bird flu infections among humans are rare, the virus can spread if it gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or if it is inhaled.

The public is encouraged to watch for symptoms of influenza-like illness, particularly if they have been in contact with sick or dead animals within the past 10 days, and to inform their health care provider of any such exposure.

In humans, bird flu can range in severity from no symptoms to mild symptoms like eye infections or upper respiratory illness. In severe cases, bird flu can cause pneumonia.

The CDC said that overall risk to the public “remains low” but “guidance changes” might be required depending on the results of an investigation. Attempts to discover more about the infection by sequencing the genome of the virus are underway.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.