A teenager is in critical condition in a children's hospital in British Columbia, Canada, due to what is believed to be the country's first human case of bird flu.
“This was a healthy teenager before this case, so he didn't have any underlying illness,” said the head of the British Columbia provincial health department, Bonnie Henry, at a press conference, quoted by The Guardian.
“This reminds us that, in young people, this is a virus that can progress and cause quite serious illnesses and the deterioration I mentioned was quite rapid,” she added.
The teenager's age or gender has not been revealed, but she said that he began to develop symptoms on November 2, including conjunctivitis, fever and a cough.
The youngster was hospitalized on November 8 and his condition worsened on Tuesday, when he developed acute respiratory difficulties.
So far, no source of infection has been identified.
On Saturday, she announced that the Canadian health authorities had confirmed the first case of bird flu in a human, who had contracted the H5N1 virus after coming into contact with an infected animal.
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