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 Canadian teenager infected with bird flu — that country’s first case involving a locally acquired infection — is in critical condition and experiencing difficulty breathing, health officials said Tuesday.

Federal health officials have confirmed that a B.C. teen who is currently in hospital has Canada's first human case of H5N1 avian flu.

Human-to-human transmission of bird flu is exceedingly rare and there has been no evidence of sustained transmission between people, the Public Health Agency of Canada said. Still, when humans have caught bird flu in the past, it has been deadly.

H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.