B.C. avian flu: Doctors comparing H5N1 case with that of Louisiana patient [Video]

The BC Centre for Disease Control says it is comparing the genetic features of a local teenager’s avian flu case with that of a Louisiana patient who died earlier this week.

Clinical microbiologist Dr. Agatha Jassem, co-program head of the virology lab at the BCCDC Public Health Laboratory, says they want to understand how the viruses in the two cases are related to each other, as well as to viruses circulating in birds.

This will help to assess how easily it adapts and transmits between animals and humans. Both cases are related to viruses detected in wild birds and poultry. While there is no evidence of human-to-human infection in either, it’s something experts are keeping an eye on.

Louisiana health officials said Monday that a patient hospitalized with severe avian flu died, marking the first H5N1 fatality in the United States. The 13-year-old remained hospitalized in Vancouver as of last …