Bird flu has spread to Hawaii for the first time ever

[noumoe]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/arti ... 0&ito=1490

Bird flu has spread to Hawaii for the first time ever, officials say, amid growing concerns the virus could learn to jump between humans.

Ducks and geese on a backyard farm on the island of Oahu, home to the state's capital, tested positive for H5N1 last week, with the virus likely brought in by migratory birds.

More than 70 of the birds — including eight ducklings and a swan — have now been slaughtered but officials fear the virus could still be lurking on the island.

Residents are being urged to avoid sick or dead birds and to report them to state authorities immediately.

But they are also being told the risk from bird flu on the island is 'low.'

The spread of H5N1 comes as a teenager in critical condition in Canada was revealed to have caught a strain of bird flu that had mutated to better infect humans.

Researchers raised the alarm over the case, saying it was 'bad news', but added the virus likely gained the mutations after it infected the patient and had not spread to others.

It is not clear where the individual, who has not been named, contracted the virus, but they have now been in critical condition in the hospital for more than a week.