Tests confirm Canada bird flu as low danger strain
By James Grubel
The Star, 28 Nov 2005

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Tests have identified the bird flu virus found this month on a commercial duck farm in British Columbia's southwestern Fraser Valley as a low-pathogenic H5N2 strain, officials said on Monday. 

Officials are still awaiting test results on the flu virus found at a second, and related farm, but said they believe it will be the same strain, which causes minor illness in birds and is not transmitted to people. 

The test results should help Canada to persuade

the United States, Japan and Hong Kong to lift the temporary trade embargoes they imposed on poultry shipments from the region after the initial discovery of the virus, according the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 

Although none of the birds carrying the virus showed signs of illness, Canadian officials ordered the killing of more than 60,000 ducks and geese to prevent it from spreading to other farms, and from mutating to a more easily transmitted strain.