B.C. teen with avian flu discharged after weeks in hospital

A colourized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses (seen in gold) grown in MDCK cells (seen in green) are shown in this 1997 image. (CDC - Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz, Sharif Zaki / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

BC Children’s Hospital says a 13-year-old girl with avian flu was discharged Tuesday after weeks in hospital.

The patient was taken to a pediatric intensive care unit with respiratory failure and pneumonia on Nov. 8 and health officials said she tested positive for H5N1 a day later.

A recent medical journal chronicled the teen's hospitalization in Vancouver, which involved tracheal intubation and supplemental oxygen.

Her family says in a statement that the experience has been “life-changing” and that they are grateful to have their daughter home.

They are asking for privacy as they “heal and rebuild” their lives after the traumatic experience.

The teenager, who has a history of mild asthma and an elevated body mass index, was the first human case of H5N1 in Canada. Health officials have said they don’t know how she got infected.

A provincial health spokesperson said Thursday they typically refrain from releasing information about patients but recognize "there has been an extraordinary amount of attention and interest from across North America" in this case.

A patient in Louisiana hospitalized with a severe case of avian flu died earlier this week.

The BC Centre for Disease Control said it was comparing the genetic features of the local teenager's avian flu case with that of the Louisiana patient. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2025.

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