B.C. teen avian flu patient still in critical condition; epidemiologist says risk to public low

The B.C. Ministry of Health says a teenager who was infected with H5N1, or avian flu, is still in critical condition after nearly two weeks.

On Saturday, Nov. 9, authorities shared that a teenager in the Fraser Health region had tested positive for the virus, otherwise known as bird flu.

Dr. Brian Conway, with the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, says although the virus can have a significant mortality rate, it is extremely hard for humans to catch unless they work directly with poultry or other mammals.

He says the severity of this disease comes from the fact that humans do not have protective antibodies to it.

“It’s a completely new virus to the human host, and you do not have any built-up immunity. You don’t even have a close immunity to this virus,” Conway explained. “So it takes us back a little bit to the very beginning of the [COVID-19] pandemic, when no one had antibodies.”

He says the virus has been around for nearly three decades and has been endemic to birds worldwide for nearly one-third of that time, but has resulted in fewer than 1,000 human cases and very limited human-to-human transmission.

“I would say that this would be extremely hard to catch, except if you’re in the right environment.”

For example, Conway says, that would include milking a sick cow, tending a flock of infected birds, infected mink, “or the like. “

Conway says teens and young people are more at risk of contracting the disease — likely because their immune systems aren’t as developed as adults.

On Sunday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it has detected the presence of the flu in commercial poultry at additional locations in Abbotsford and Chilliwack, both of which have seen multiple cases since October.

The CFIA says avian influenza is not a food safety concern, and there is no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit it to humans.

It says additional primary control zones, which seek to prevent the flu’s spread, will be created as required.

The CFIA currently lists 41 premises in Canada where the flu has been detected in bird flocks, with 37 of those in B.C.

The provincial health ministry confirms no further human cases of avian flu have been identified in B.C. and it’s still investigating how the teenager got sick.

“We have no further update on patient status – they remain in critical condition,” the ministry said in a statement to 1130 NewsRadio.