Canada’s first human case of avian influenza

The British Columbia Ministry of Health (Canada) has announced the first instance of human infection with the H5 avian influenza strain, which has resulted in the admission of a teenage patient to a children’s hospital. As stated by the relevant health authorities, this is an exceptional occurrence. The source of the infection and the teenager’s potential contacts are therefore being investigated. Avian influenza is frequently found in wild bird and poultry populations. The rising prevalence of infections among mammals has prompted concerns that the avian influenza virus, which has recently been identified among cows in an outbreak in the United States this year and a pig at the end of October, may undergo a mutation that would enable it to transmit from human to human.