The Canadian Press is reporting an imported case of H5N1 avian influenza--which was fatal-- in the province of Alberta. From press reports, it appears the infected person traveled to Canada from China. Contact tracing is ongoing, however the highly fatal H5N1 (unlike seasonal influenza) does not efficiently spread between people.
The press report also states that the hospital did "everything it could." In the coming days it will be interesting to find out the clinical course of this patient and what interventions were attempted (e.g. prone ventilation, ECMO, peramivir, zanamivir, etc.)
Though this is the 1st case of H5N1 identified in North America, it is not surprising that such a case has finally occurred given the density of travel.