What Canada does to monitor H5N1 avian flu – CBC

Ways to try to stay safe from bird flu virus

Nov 14, 2024

A teenager diagnosed with bird flu in British Columbia is the first domestically acquired human case of H5N1 avian influenza, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.

Since Influenza A or flu viruses are named after the animal where they are most commonly found, avian viruses are naturally found in birds.

H5N1 is a highly transmissible and usually mild disease in geese, swans and seagulls as well as domestic birds such as chickens and turkeys. It has also spread to mammals.

Scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg sequenced the genome of the virus from the infected B.C. teen to confirm it is H5N1. The tests showed the version of the virus is related to the avian influenza viruses from the ongoing outbreak in poultry in B.C., the Public Health Agency of Canada said Wednesday.

The version is not the same as the one spreading in dairy cattle in the U.S., PHAC added.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/h5n1-bird-flu-avian-1.7383175