The first patient in Canada has tested positive for bird flu, according to the CBC. He is currently admitted to a children’s hospital.
Bird flu does not currently have human-to-human transmission. Source: archive
It is about a teenager, and the source of the contamination and his contacts are under investigation. “This is a rare event,” described local public health official Bonnie Henry. “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure (to the virus) here in British Columbia”she added.
Bird flu is most often found in wild bird or poultry populations. It was recently identified in cows, victims of an epidemic in the United States this year, and in pigs in late October – a first in this country. Experts are concerned about the increasing number of infected mammals, although human cases remain rare. They fear that high levels of circulation could make it easier for the virus to mutate, allowing it to pass from one person to another. In September, a person in the US state of Missouri tested positive for bird flu without having had any contact known with an infected animal, a first in the country.
Bird flu, symptoms
Bird flu usually affects birds, but other animals can also come into contact with the virus. Among them: cattle, pigs, minks, seals, wild boars, foxes, cats, mice. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) cases of illness in humans can range from minor or very mild symptoms (conjunctivitis, mild respiratory symptoms) to severe symptoms (pneumonia requiring hospitalization) and, in some cases, death.
The three farm workers in Colorado, US, showed mild symptoms, including symptoms of conjunctivitis and common symptoms of respiratory infections, Colorado officials said in a statement, adding that none of the people were hospitalized.
Specialists’ recommendations
Persons in close contact with infected animals should wear personal protective equipment and avoid unprotected direct contact with sick or dead animals, carcasses, faeces, and potentially contaminated environments. ECDC recommends active surveillance of exposed persons (such as symptom monitoring or testing), preventive measures and/or vaccination of risk groups.
We will have a bird flu vaccine when the virus is transmitted from human to human. “We cannot make a vaccine to prevent an epidemic if the virus is not transmissible between humans. Instead, a vaccine can be made to protect humans if they come into contact with the intermediate host,” the doctor explained to “Avevarul”. Gindrovel Dumitra, coordinator of the vaccinology group within the National Society of Family Medicine.
