In what is believed to be Canada's first human case of bird flu, a teenager is in a British Columbia children's hospital in critical condition with a presumptive case of the virus, the CBC reports. Authorities say the unnamed teen developed symptoms Nov. 2 and was hospitalized Nov. 8, and that as of Tuesday they remained in the hospital with acute respiratory distress syndrome, the Guardian reports. Testing revealed the teen was infected with H5 bird flu, and health officials are working to confirm the exact strain—but it's assumed to be H5N1, the strain wreaking havoc on US farms.
"This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions," says the provincial health officer. No evidence of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 has ever been found, including in this case, with contact tracing finding no one else infected with the virus so far. While the teen did not have any known contact with birds, they did interact with other animals including dogs, cats, and reptiles in the days prior to getting sick. None of those animals have so far tested positive for the virus, however, and health officials say it's possible the teen was exposed somehow through the environment and the source may never be known. (More bird flu stories.)
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