January 10, 2014
Canada reports North America''s first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu
Canada health officials reported North America''s first fatal case of H5N1bird flu on January 8.
The victim, a woman in her late 20s from Alberta, was travelling back from China when symptoms first appeared, according to CTV News. The woman fell ill on a flight to Canada from Beijing on December 27.
Canadian officials said it was the first case of H5N1 reported in Beijing and China was looking into the case. "This is the first evidence of this particular virus circulating in Beijing. Chinese authorities are going to be very interested. We''ve contacted them already," said Dr Gregory Taylor, deputy chief health officer in Canada.
The victim only visited Beijing during her trip to China, Taylor added.
It is unclear how the person was infected with the virus. Canadian health officials said on January 8 that the victim did not visit any poultry markets in Beijing, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) also stated on January 9 that the person had no contact with poultry.
Canada''s Health Minister Rona Ambrose said that the case was an isolated one and assured the general public that the risk was low.
"This is not a disease that''s transmitted between humans so unless you were in the infected in the area and were in contact with an infected bird you are not going to get this illness," Dr Theresa Tam of Health Canada said.
Dr James Talbot, Alberta''s chief medical officer of health, said that family members of the victim are being monitored and treated with medication. He also said that so far there was no evidence that anyone else was infected by the victim, including two companions who travelled together with the victim.
According to WHO, as of mid-December 2013, confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu had hit 648, most of which were in Asia. Of that total number, 384 infections were fatal.