Teen sickened with Canada's first human case of bird flu is in critical condition -- and the source remains a mystery

Source: livescience.com



Teen sickened with Canada's first human case of bird flu is in critical condition — and the source remains a mystery

By Stephanie Pappas published 4 hours ago

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A teenager in Canada is critically ill with the first human case of H5N1 bird flu contracted in the country, and public health officials aren't sure how the youth was exposed.

The teen had no known exposure to livestock such as cattle or poultry, where the virus is known to be circulating. The strain that sickened the teen, however, is different from the version that is infecting cows and has spread to dozens of dairy workers in the U.S.

Instead, the variant in question, a 2.3.4.4b virus of the D1.1 genotype, typically circulates in wild birds and poultry, according to StatNews.


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Since 2022, the virus has been popping up in mammals, causing devastating outbreaks in sea lions and elephant seals and spreading in dairy farms. At least 46 people in the U.S. have contracted the virus in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

These illnesses have been mild so far, but H5N1 can cause severe disease; more than half of cases detected worldwide since 2003 were fatal, according to the WHO. This statistic does not account for mild, undetected cases that were likely circulating in this time, but does suggest a concerning mortality rate for H5N1 should it become better at spreading between people...................





Read more: https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/teen-sickened-with-canadas-first-human-case-of-bird-flu-is-in-critical-condition-and-the-source-remains-a-mystery