Canada culls thousands to stem bird flu

WASHINGTON - 11/23/05 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture placed an interim ban on poultry imports from British Columbia (BC) following a positive test for a low-pathogenic form of H5 avian influenza.

The virus, which is carried by many migrating waterfowl, turned up in October in 33 wild ducks in Quebec and Manitoba, but the import ban was implemented after a duck from a commercial flock tested positive in BC.

Low-pathogenic H5N1 does not kill birds or offer any health risks to humans, officials say.

Interim bans typically last 21 days. Canada has depopulated about 70,000 birds and has locked down a five-mile radius. An outbreak of H7N3 in February 2004 led to the slaughter of about 17 million birds in BC.

Editor's note: See DVM Newsmagazine's December cover story for expert analysis on H5N1 risks to the United States.