Canada records first case of bird flu in humans

On alert, Canadian authorities are alert after identifying a possible new case of bird flu. In the British province of Columbia, a teenager is the first person to be investigated as having the flu. The authorities made the declaration this Saturday (09).

As the contagion occurred, other possible contacts are being investigated. At a pediatric hospital, the young man is receiving treatment for H5 bird flu, according to the local Department of Health. Authorities say the infection possibly came from a bird or animal.

“This is a rare event. We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure”said Bonnie Henry, one of the province's health officials.

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^{A livestock enterprise in Zhangjiakou (Photo: reproduction NurPhotoNurPhoto/Getty Images Embed)}

The flu

Contaminated environments or through close contact, the flu can possibly infect humans. The increase in mammals infected with bird flu causes concern among scientists, with fear that they believe that the disease will reach humans in a rare way, a huge rate of transmission could occur that could facilitate the mutation of the virus, and would cause humans could transmit the virus to each other. Authorities state that, in September, in the State of Missouri (USA), a person was the first to test positive for bird flu without having any exposure to animals.

Authorities are concerned about rural workers, who mostly have direct contact with animals, such as birds and cows, which are more vulnerable to the virus.

Prevention

The way to prevent bird flu is by vaccinating animals against the main strains (a strain when a mutation alters at least one of its observable characteristics, called phenotypic). This measure reduces the number of fatalities. If the virus affects a human, emergency care should be sought as soon as possible.

Featured photo: Stock photo of Chickens in the henhouse (reproduction/E+Gins Wang/Getty Images Embed)