Bird flu found in Canada

TORONTO – Nearly three dozen wild ducks have tested positive for the H5 bird flu virus in Canada, officials reported Monday, but they said it is unlikely to be the strain blamed for more than 60 human deaths in Southeast Asia.

Dr. Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it will take at least a week to determine whether the flu found in 33 ducks from the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba was the deadly H5N1 strain that has ravaged Asian poultry farms.

But it is unlikely to be the same strain because none of the wild ducks tested was ill, Clark said at a news conference.

Clark said 4,800 samples had been collected from wild birds in seven Canadian provinces in a study begun before the recent spread of H5N1 from Asia to parts of Europe and Turkey.

Clark said it is not surprising to find a variant of the H5 virus in Canada. He said it can be present in at least 7 percent of wild birds in North America at any given time – but in less virulent forms than the H5N1 strain.

The spread of H5N1 across the Eurasian landmass has world health experts worried about the possibility of a human flu pandemic developing that could kill millions and cripple economies.