Canada Bird Flu Not Likely H5N1

Bird flu has been found in ducks in Canada but health experts say it is unlikely to be the deadly H5N1 virus that has ignited fears of a global pandemic.
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.
Hopefully, the bird flu will be confirmed as not being H5N1 soon. They really need to develop a way of quickly determining whether or not a bird has H5N1.

Posted on November 1, 2005

More from Health News Blog