H5N1 bird flu found in wild birds in central Canada

UPDATED: 10:44, November 20, 2005

Wild birds in Canada's central province of Manitoba have tested positive for a low-pathogenic subtype of the H5N1 avian flu virus, a health official said on Saturday.

The strains are from the family of North American H5N1 viruses, not the forms circulating in Southeast Asia, said Dr. Brian Evans, chief veterinary officer at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ( CFIA).

"I want to emphasize that the H5N1 subtype detected in Manitoba is completely distinct from the strain currently present in Asia," said Evans

"From a genetic perspective, there are significant strain differences in their structure," he said.

In addition, officials isolated an H5N3 subtype in two birds from Quebec, as part of a cross-country surveillance program to find what avian flu viruses are being carried by wild ducks in this country.

"Finding only low pathogenic avian influenza means that these viruses would cause only mild disease, if any at all, if introduced into domestic birds," Evans said.

Meanwhile, a commercial farm in British Columbia's Fraser Valley remains under quarantine after a duck was found infected with a strain of H5 bird flu on Friday.

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