North America’s first human case of H5N1, or avian flu, was confirmed after an Alberta patient died from the virus, Health Minister Rona Ambrose announced Wednesday.
The person died Jan. 3 after falling ill on the way back home from a trip to China in late December.
Officials say person-to-person transmission of avian flu is “extremely rare” and the individual’s family members are not showing any signs of illness.
However, they are being monitored as a precaution and have been offered Tamiflu, commonly used for flu treatment and prevention, said Dr. James Talbot, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.
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The infected person was on the Air Canada 030 flight from Beijing to Vancouver on Dec. 27, and then took the Air Canada 244 flight from Vancouver to Edmonton on the same day.
The individual started feeling unwell on the flight home and was later admitted to hospital, where her condition quickly deteriorated. The patient’s initial symptoms included fever, malaise and headache. There were no respiratory symptoms, which are common in H5N1 infections.
Lab tests later confirmed that the patient was infected with the H5N1 virus.
Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/alberta-resident-dies-from-avian-flu-in-north-america-s-first-human-case-of-h5n1-1.1629498#ixzz2pqvah000
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