U.S. bans some of Canada's poultry because of bird flu

Following the discovery of a non lethal strain of the bird flu virus in a duck in British Columbia, the United States has placed an interim ban on poultry from the area.

According to Elizabeth Whiting, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Agriculture department, the U.S. will continue to accept exports from the rest of Canada.

The duck, from a poultry farm near Abbotsford, British Columbia, was apparently carrying the low pathogenic H5 strain which was discovered during routine testing.

Whiting says the ban was imposed pending an assessment of poultry in the vicinity.

It seems that officials are now testing birds on about 50 farms near the one where the infected duck was discovered, but say there is no evidence that the disease has spread even to other birds at the original site.

Jim Rogers, a U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesman says that when they have all the information they may withdraw the ban entirely.

Apparently Canada is not a very large market for U.S. poultry, and British Columbia's agriculture minister said the ban was not a major concern because only a small percentage of the province's poultry is exported.

Hong Kong too has also suspended poultry importation applications from British Columbia because of the finding, though a government spokesman says Hong Kong imports only a small amount of frozen poultry from the province.

Canadian officials say that there is no evidence the virus has spread to other birds, but, as precaution, several thousand ducks and geese at the farm were being culled.

Officials say that birds at farms within a five kilometer radius are being tested.