People have been hearing a lot about H5N1 bird flu — or highly pathogenic avian influenza — since a B.C. teen became the first human to get the virus in Canada and is in hospital.

British Columbia health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry shared in a news conference that a teenager, who contracted the first presumptive case of bird flu in Canada, was in critical condition after developing 'acute respiratory distress.

The Fraser Valley teen does not have any connection to poultry farms, where a highly pathogenic version of avian flu has decimated flocks at 24 sites in B.C.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says the teenager who has tested positive for bird flu is in critical condition and being treated at B.C. Children's Hospital. B.C.’s provincial health officer says the teenager who has tested positive for bird flu is in critical condition in B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Cases of H5N1 bird flu in U.S. dairy and poultry workers have largely been mild. However, a new case in a British Columbia teenager has experts worried.

Since Influenza A or flu viruses are named after the animal where they are most commonly found, avian viruses are naturally found in birds. H5N1 is a highly transmissible and usually mild disease in geese,