Avian flu related death confirmed in Alberta
Posted Jan 8, 2014 2:54 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Federal public health officials confirm a case of H5N1 bird flu has been reported in Alberta: the first such case in North America.
Health Minister Rona Ambrose says the fatal case was an isolated one, and that the risk to the general public is very low.
Officials say the H5N1 strain is unrelated to the seasonal flu outbreak.
The person had travelled to Beijing, China in December, was admitted to an Edmonton hospital January 1st, and died a couple days later.
Officials are not identifying the name, age or gender of the deceased.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says that while they don’t know how the virus was contracted, there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
“This is a very rare and isolated case,” said Dr. James Talbot, “avian influenza is not easily transmitted from person to person. It is not the same virus that is currently present in seasonal influenza in Alberta.”
“Public health has followed up with all close contacts of this individual and offered Tamiflu as a precaution. None of them have symptoms and the risk of developing symptoms is extremely low. Precautions for health care staff were also taken as part of this individual’s hospital treatment.”
The World Health Organization says that as of mid-December, there had been 648 laboratory-confirmed human cases of H5N1 flu, reported from 15 countries. Of that total, 384 infections have been fatal.
Symptoms of the H5N1 include a fever and cough, acute respiratory distress, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
In a few cases, a mild eye infection is the only indication of the disease.
