AMN/ WEB DESK
A teenager in British Columbia, Canada has tested positive for bird flu, marking the country’s first confirmed human case of the H5 strain. The provincial health department said, the individual is receiving treatment in a children’s hospital for H5 avian flu, where specialists are closely monitoring their condition.
It has launched an investigation to trace the infection’s source and identify any potential contacts. Health officials suspect the transmission likely originated from an animal. British Columbia Health officials said this is a rare event and they are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure.
Bird flu is most commonly found in wild birds and poultry, but has more recently been detected in mammals, with an outbreak in cattle seen across the United States this year. It can occasionally infect humans through close contact or contaminated environments.
Scientists have voiced concern about the growing number of mammals becoming infected by bird flu, even if cases in humans remain rare. They fear a high rate of transmission could facilitate a mutation of the virus, which could enable it to be passed from one human to another.