Experts and health authorities say that while the risk of human infection with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza remains low, people should avoid contact with sick or dead birds.

A teenager in British Columbia, Canada has been hospitalized with a presumed case of H5N1 bird flu, the first detected human case in the country in the current outbreak.

British Columbia health officials have yet to identify a likely source of the infection, though none of the teen's contacts have tested positive for the virus so far.