A teen in critical condition at BC Children's Hospital is the first domestically acquired case of H5N1 avian influenza, Canada's public health agency confirmed Wednesday (Nov. 13).
The Public Health Agency of Canada said that based on genomic sequencing, the case is related to the avian influenza H5N1 viruses from the ongoing outbreak in poultry in B.C.
B.C.'s Health Ministry and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry first shared news of the suspected case on Saturday, the day after the teen was admitted to hospital.
On Tuesday, Henry said the province was waiting on official test results from the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to confirm it was a case of avian influenza, her office was confident in their testing.
More to come.
