Yan Zhou has researched influenza viruses at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan for two decades, with nearly half of that time being spent looking into avian flu. She said there’s a relatively new strain causing urgent concern: H5N1.
“We have seen this contemporary H5N1 virus circulating in the world for several years, and now it seems this virus has gained ground in North America,” said Zhou, a senior research scientist and molecular biologist.
H5N1 has killed or infected 7.2 million birds across the country since Dec. 20, 2021, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
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