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