Quigley_Sharps
06-18-2006, 01:30 AM
OTTAWA - Canada has discovered a strain of H5 avian flu in 33 wild migratory ducks but it is unlikely to be the killer H5N1 strain which has spread from Southeast Asia to Europe, a top health official said Monday.
Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said a recent survey of 4,800 healthy wild birds had found the H5 virus in 28 ducks in the eastern province of Quebec and five in the central province of Manitoba.
“These findings do not indicate that we are dealing with a virus strain capable of causing significant illness,” Clark told a news conference. “The evidence we have observed strongly indicates that these healthy birds were not infected with the same virus that is currently present in Asia.”
Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said a recent survey of 4,800 healthy wild birds had found the H5 virus in 28 ducks in the eastern province of Quebec and five in the central province of Manitoba.
“These findings do not indicate that we are dealing with a virus strain capable of causing significant illness,” Clark told a news conference. “The evidence we have observed strongly indicates that these healthy birds were not infected with the same virus that is currently present in Asia.”