The British Columbia teenager who became infected with Canada’s first human case of H5N1 bird flu was moved out of intensive care and taken off supplemental oxygen last month.
While health officials have not provided any updates on the case since November, new details were published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, in a report signed by doctors at the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Center for BC Disease Control and BC Children’s Hospital.
The patient, described as a 13-year-old girl with mild asthma, was initially brought to an undisclosed emergency department on Nov. 4 with fever and conjunctivitis.
She was sent home without treatment, only to return to the hospital three days later with “respiratory distress,” according to the case report. The teen was then transferred to the ICU at BC Children’s, suffering from pneumonia, acute kidney injury, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia and respiratory failure.
She remained in intensive care until December 4, when she was transferred to the hospital’s pediatric ward. On December 18, he no longer needed supplemental oxygen.
Provincial officials announced the girl’s infection on Nov. 9, after testing confirmed the presence of the H5 influenza virus, and launched an investigation into how and where she acquired the illness.
The government did not share any personal details about the patient at the time, except that she is from the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week indicates that both the patient and her family gave consent to reveal additional details about her case.
The Ministry of Health told CTV News it could not provide any further information Wednesday, including whether the child remains in the hospital.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the government’s investigation findings on Nov. 29, confirming that they had found “no evidence of transmission” from the child, and “no evidence of other cases” in British Columbia.
However, the source of the teenager’s infection was never established, despite testing of dozens of animal and environmental samples, all of which came back negative. Henry said the investigation was closed, at least temporarily, for lack of additional leads.
Genome sequencing indicated the virus was the same one that has been “circulating among poultry and wild birds” in both British Columbia and Washington state since October, and “recently detected in a severe human infection in Louisiana,” according to a appendix published with the case report on Tuesday.
Doctors also noted there was evidence of a “concerning” genetic mutation that “may increase binding to human airway receptors.”
There have been 66 human cases of H5N1 confirmed in the United States so far, including 11 in Washington state, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which considers the overall public health risk “low.” There have been outbreaks of the virus among poultry in all 50 states.
The British Columbia Ministry of Health advises anyone who has been exposed to sick or dead animals, or who works on a farm where avian influenza has been detected, to watch for flu-like symptoms. If those symptoms develop within 10 days of exposure, officials recommend informing a health care provider.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kaija Jussinoja and Michele Brunoro
