BC’s top doctor says a young person is being treated in BC Children’s Hospital for H5 influenza — or bird flu.

This is the first known case of a human bird flu infection in both BC and Canada.

The affected teenager lives somewhere in the Fraser Health Authority, but a specific municipality has not been identified by provincial authorities.

Fraser Health includes portions of the Fraser Canyon, but also covers most of the communities in the Lower Mainland east of Burnaby, as well as the Fraser Valley.

The BC Government has also not specified when the test for the presumptive positive was first administered, but does say the lab results from the BC Centre for Disease Control are being sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg for further testing.

Symptoms of bird flu normally appear three to five days after exposure, according to the UK’s National Health Service, which has treated cases of bird flu in humans.

BC authorities say a public-health investigation has been initiated to determine the source of the exposure, while also identifying anyone else who may have come into contact with the victim.

“Our thoughts are with this young person and their family during this difficult time,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer in a release issued Saturday afternoon. “This is a rare event, and while it is the first detected case of H5 in a person in B.C. or in Canada, there have been a small number of human cases in the U.S. and elsewhere, which is why we are conducting a thorough investigation to fully understand the source of exposure here in B.C.”

The Province says the source of exposure is very likely an animal or bird.

BC’s Chief Veterinarian, as well as public health teams, are also involved in the investigation.

Numerous cases of bird flu have been detected in poultry farms in the Fraser Valley in recent years.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reporting a current wave of the H5N1 strain has been detected on 22 properties in BC, with 6.5 million birds potentially impacted.

It’s not clear if there is any connection between this most recent outbreak in poultry flocks and the case involving the BC teenager.

While bird flu in humans can be fatal if untreated, its impact on humans is similar to that of the flu strains which affect people.

However, the larger concern is the potential of the H5 strain to mutate in humans, which could impact its level of severity, and possibly the way the virus spreads.

Bird flu is only known to be transmitted by direct contact with an infected animal or person.