H5N1, the latest strain of the bird flu virus, has been confirmed to have broken through the barrier and entered North America despite precautions after Canadian health officials reported a fatal case of the flu on Wednesday.
The victim had reportedly been travelling from China when H5N1 symptoms first manifested.
The case, which was reported from Alberta, was an isolated one and the current risk of the strain becoming the next pandemic is still very low, explained Health Minister Rona Ambrose.
According to a local news outlet, the first North America H5N1 victime was a woman in her late 20s who had just returned after spending several weeks in China.
Health officials reported that the victim started feeling ill on her flight back to Canada from Beijing on Dec. 27. This was also the first case of the bird flu strain in Beijing and Chinese officials had already begun investigation, Canadian officials added.
"This is the first evidence of this particular virus circulating in Beijing. Chinese authorities are going to be very interested. We've contacted them already," said Canadian Deputy Chief Health Officer, Dr. Gregory Taylor.
Taylor confirmed that the H5N1 victim only visited Beijing during her trip to China and did not visit any markets or travel to a farm during her stay.
According to the World Health Organization, 648 cases of H5N1 flu had been confirmed through laboratory testing, most of which had been reported in Asia, as of mid-December. 384 out of the 648 cases were fatal.
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