Provincial Health Officer says British Columbians who may have come into contact with the person who died of deadly avian flu after passing through Vancouver International Airport in late December can rest easy.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the victim, who was an Alberta resident, travelled on Air Canada flight 030 from Beijing to Vancouver on December 27, then transferred to flight 244 bound for Edmonton.
It is the first reported case of H5N1 in North America.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Perry Kendall says the person spent about 2.5 hours at Vancouver International Airport on December 27 between 12:30 and 3 p.m. while waiting for a connecting flight.
Kendall says human to human transmission of H5N1 is very rare, and if it happens, it has been confined to close family contacts.
“It is, therefore, extremely unlikely that any passengers or casual airport contacts of this case would have been put at risk,” says Kendall.
Kendall says a recent review of H5N1 cases in China shows that the average incubation period — the time from exposure to illness — is about three to four days.
The average time from illness onset to hospitalization for severe cases is about four to five days.
“It’s now been 12 days since this case returned to Canada on December 27,” says Kendall. “Travelling contacts who might have been exposed to this patient would by now have developed recognizable signs and symptoms.”
READ MORE: Fatal case of H5N1 bird flu reported in Canada
Kendall says in the time that this patient has returned to B.C. from China, the BC Centre for Disease Control has not been notified of any severe respiratory illness in any patient with a history of travel to China.
In addition, the provincial public health microbiology laboratory has a protocol for detecting novel avian influenza virus in respiratory specimens submitted for influenza testing.
The provincial lab has been conducting increased testing in response to H1N1 cases, and absolutely no cases of H5N1 have been detected in B.C. to date.
Kendall says the person who died did not have respiratory symptoms while on the plane.
“They basically were not coughing. They were just feeling very ill, which further decreases any possible risk, which is minimal to start with.”
No extra measures have been ordered to be undertaken by YVR.
Comments