There have been dozens of confirmed human cases of bird flu in the U.S. this year. Experts discuss the symptoms, risks and how to prevent getting sick.

Another cause for concern: flu season is underway in the U.S., and as seasonal influenza virus goes around, “humans, ourselves, could be a mixing vessel,” Davis says. If a person were simultaneously infected with bird flu and seasonal flu, the two viruses could theoretically combine to create a more transmissible strain.

Initial testing had indicated the teenager’s infection was from bird flu and was confirmed in further testing, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement. The teen has been hospitalized in Vancouver since Friday and was reported in critical condition on Tuesday.

Amid an ongoing outbreak of bird flu in American dairy herds and poultry flocks, Canadian officials have announced that a teen in British Columbia has been hospitalized in critical condition with what is believed to be bird flu.

A Canadian teenager is hospitalized in critical condition with bird flu, health officials reported Tuesday. The teen has been receiving care at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver since Friday, the same day an initial test came back positive for H5 influenza.

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.