A first fatal case of avian influenza (H5N1) in Canada was confirmed Wednesday afternoon by the Ministry of Health. The origin of the contamination worries Canadian doctors.
The announcement sent shivers down the spines of journalists in the room. “I am here to confirm the very first case of H5N1, also known as bird flu, in North America,” Health Minister Rona Ambrose said at a press conference on Wednesday. In fact, a week after returning from Beijing, a person died in Canada from H5N1 bird flu. This death is the first confirmed fatal case on the North American continent.
Low risk of human transmission
The victim began to experience symptoms of headache and fever on an Air Canada flight from Beijing to Vancouver on December 27, 2013. She nevertheless continued her journey on another flight to Edmonton. But, suddenly, her health deteriorated and she had to go to a hospital, where she died on January 3 in an Edmonton hospital, said the Alberta health official, the Dr James Talbot. In an attempt to reassure Canadians, the Minister of Health insisted on the fact that, “the death of this person is an isolated case. The risks of human transmission are very low. “
Two relatives of the victim under surveillance
More surprisingly in this case, the victim who had made the trip to China with two relatives, was previously in perfect health. Moreover, concerning the two people who traveled with the victim, they “ will be followed for ten days. Usually, symptoms appear within two to five days of exposure to the virus, suggesting that two weeks after the return trip, these people have not developed the disease, ”says Dr. James Talbot. For information, “Tamiflu was issued to them for prevention and five days after the death of their loved one, none of them presented any symptoms,” added the doctor.
An enigmatic and disturbing case
Finally, Canadian health authorities insisted that the victim had not left Beijing, nor visited a farm or market. This data worries doctors across the Atlantic, especially since recently the Chinese authorities did not mention cases of avian flu in farms in the Beijing region. “It is not a disease that is transmitted between humans, so unless you are in an infected area or come into contact with an infected bird, you will not get this disease,” Dr Theresa recalled. Tam, from the Department of Health. And the latter to add, “One of the unusual points in this case is that at no time did the person show symptoms of cough or respiratory failure. In fact, the cause of death has been identified as meningeal encephalitis. “
As a reminder, 650 cases of avian flu have been recorded in 15 countries for ten years, with a mortality rate of 60%, said Dr James Talbot. In 2013, a total of 38 cases were reported worldwide, 24 of which were fatal. Finally, the last fatal cases of avian flu were listed last year in Indonesia and Cambodia for the H5N1 strain. A case of H7N9 avian influenza was also detected in Hong Kong at the very beginning of December.
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