Ottawa, November 14: The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed the first domestically acquired human case of H5N1 avian influenza in Canada. A teenager in British Columbia was hospitalised and tested presumptive positive for H5 avian influenza on November 9, and was later confirmed to have been infected with the H5N1 virus on Wednesday, PHAC said in a statement.

The genomic sequencing result indicated that the virus is related to the avian influenza H5N1 virus from the ongoing outbreak in poultry in British Columbia, said PHAC, adding that no other human infections have been detected so far, and investigation is underway to determine how the individual got infected. Bird Flu in Canada: Teen Hospitalised With First Suspected Human Case of H5 in British Columbia.

While there is an ongoing H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle in the United States, no cases of avian influenza have been reported in dairy cattle in Canada, and there has been no evidence of bird flu virus in milk samples, reports Xinhua news agency.

Furthermore, the clade of H5N1 virus detected in dairy cattle in the United States differed from that found in the human case reported in British Columbia, PHAC said. Bird Flu Outbreak in US: Second Human Case of H5N1 Reported in Michigan.

Based on current evidence, the risk of avian influenza infection for the public remains low. The risk of bird flu infection is higher for those who have unprotected exposure to infected animals, PHAC said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2024 03:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).