MONTREAL (AFX) - A case of H5 bird flu virus has been detected in a Canadian poultry flock, and further testing will be done to determine whether it is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, officials said.
The H5 virus, which is not highly pathogenic, was found on a goose from a small backyard poultry flock on the western end of Prince Edward Island, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said.
The agency said it would submit the sample to more sophisticated tests Saturday at its laboratories in Winnipeg.
Dr Francois Caya of the ACIA said there were no immediate indications that the case of avian influenza virus was 'highly pathogenic.'
'But tests must be done to determine all that,' he told AFP.
The virus was detected in a gosling in a flock of some 30 geese, chickens and ducks, which will be put to death this weekend, health officials said.
To date no case of H5N1 has been detected in North American poultry stocks. newsdesk@afxnews.com afp/ra COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited