With B.C. teen sick in hospital with suspected bird flu, what should parents know?
Global News
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
Students across B.C. return to school on Tuesday but the news that a teen is in hospital in Vancouver with a suspected case of H5 bird flu has some people worried.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
“So my main concern is the safety of our children,” she said.
“As we go back to the crowded areas, to schools in general where children are packed in the classroom, what I am hoping is that over the summer and over the last few years of this, living with COVID, that the schools have updated their filtration, their purification and their ventilation systems.”
Wolak said teachers should still open windows to ventilate the rooms and clean the air in crowded areas, helping minimize kids’ exposure to an airborne virus.
The teen remains in B.C.’s Children’s Hospital and health officials are assuring the public they are working to figure out how the patient acquired the infection and who else they might have contacted.
The teenager likely caught the virus from a bird or animal, the province said in a statement over the weekend.
Wolak said there are still other respiratory viruses going around and encouraged parents and caregivers to make sure everyone’s vaccines are up to date.
Emergency services are at the scene of a train derailment Thursday morning on Montreal's south shore, where they are urging citizens to stay away from the area.
"I was yelling at them saying get the F** away it’s a wild animal," resident Josh Merrin told Global News. "Sorry about my language."
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
The Calgary Zoo announced that one of its lowland gorillas unexpectedly passed away on November 12, 2024.
Edmontonians have had mixed feelings and now the city is asking people to share their thoughts officially. The findings of a survey could bring some changes.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, said many parents are likely having flashbacks to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite this flu being a single case.
WHO acknowledged that testing for mpox is still not widespread, making it difficult to understand how exactly the virus is spreading.
H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.
Ret. MCpl. Gordon Hurley, who served in Afghanistan, says psychedelic treatments such as ketamine and psilocybin can give veterans 'a breath of relief' from their trauma.
Health Canada has approved the vaccine, mRESVIA, for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease in older adults, the company said.
After years of construction and controversy, the Site C Dam's reservoir has finally been filled. But BC Hydro is still urging people to stay away from the area.