Quick bird flu update

A teenager in British Columbia who became ill (initial symptoms included conjunctivitis, fever, and cough) on Nov 2 is now in critical condition, on intravenous antivirals, and suffering respiratory distress. This teen has no known exposure to infected animals and no pre-existing conditions. The flu they have is an H5, but testing is ongoing to determine the rest (the neuraminidase—the N number—clade, and genotype).

Older people will largely already have some immunity to H (hemagglutinin) flu subtypes through exposure to earlier seasonal flus such as H1N1, while younger people largely don’t—which might be why this person is so ill when many poultry and dairy workers have had mild symptoms. But please note all those largely and some and might qualifications. There’s so much we don’t know yet.

I’ll refer you again to what I think are sensible precautions.