Speaking Notes for the Honourable Rona Ambrose Minister of Health

January 8, 2014
Ottawa, ON

H5N1 Technical Briefing

Good afternoon. I am Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health.

I am here to confirm North America’s first human case of H5N1, also known as avian flu.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has confirmed that a resident of Alberta, Canada who recently returned from a trip to China, has died of H5N1.

The health system did everything it could for this individual and our thoughts are with the family at this time.

The risk of H5N1 to Canadians is very low as there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission. Importantly, this is not part of the seasonal flu, which circulates in Canada every year. This is an isolated case.

Our Government and the Public Health Agency of Canada is committed to disease surveillance and is working closely with its public health partners across the country and around the world.

The Public Health Agency of Canada continues to work closely with Alberta Health and other provincial health authorities to ensure the health and safety of Canadians.

The Public Health Agency has notified China, the World Health Organization and other international partners about the case, in keeping with our commitment under the International Health Regulations.

Our Government will work closely with its national and international partners, including the World Health Organization.

The Agency will continue to work with Chinese authorities to follow up on the source and circumstances of this infection.

We are holding today’s technical briefing to deliver a clear message to Canadians, the risk of getting H5N1 is very low. This is not the regular seasonal flu. This is an isolated case

Our Government is committed to ensuring that Canadians have up-to-date, accurate information and we will continue to communicate in an open and transparent way.

Now I’ll turn it over to Dr. Gregory Taylor, our deputy chief public health officer for Canada.

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