For the first time, a person tested positive for avian flu in Canada on Saturday. A teenager is currently hospitalized in a children’s hospital for bird flu caused by the H5 strain of the virus, according to the Ministry of Health in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.

The origin of the contagion and the teenager’s contacts are under investigation. “A rare event“, described local public health officer Bonnie Henry. “We are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure (to the virus) herein British Columbia,” she added.

A human case detected in the United States

Avian influenza is most often found in populations of wild birds or poultry. It has recently been identified in cows, victims of an epidemic in the USA this year, and, at the end of October, in pigs – a first in this country.

Experts are concerned about the growing number of infected mammals, even if human cases remain rare. They fear that high circulation could facilitate mutation of the virus, enabling it to pass from one human to another.

In September, a person from the U.S. state of Missouri tested positive for avian flu, with no known contact with an infected animal – a first in the country.