The Department of Health in the province of Alberta, Canada, confirmed the death on January 3 of a Canadian affected by H5N1 avian influenza. The sick person, whose gender health authorities did not specify, was returning from a trip to China and had been hospitalized on January 1. It is therefore the first fatal case of Avian Flu in Canada and North America.
“Bird flu is not easily spread from person to person. It is not the flu virus that is circulating this season. I predict that with all the precautions we have taken, it will not ‘there will be no more cases in Alberta,’ said James Talbot, provincial director of public health.
Avoid contact with poultry
This virus is an avian form of influenza which is usually transmitted to humans from infected birds. About 650 cases have been identified during the last ten years, 60% of which have been fatal, specify the Canadian authorities. “This strain of influenza is not linked to seasonal influenza and its risk of contagion is excessively low since there is no evidence of sustained transmission from one person to another”, reassures Doctor Horacio Arruda, director national public health of Quebec, quoted by the daily The duty.
Dr Gregory Taylor, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, advises travelers who must travel to a risk region to avoid contact with markets and poultry farms, reports Radio Canada.
