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Wild ducks tested positive in Canada
26/11/2005 10:35

Thirty-six wild ducks in Canada have tested positive for H5 and H7 strains of avian influenza viruses after two farms in the country's west part were found infected with H5 earlier this week.

The ducks, taken from an area along the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the Atlantic coast, are among 710 birds tested as part of a national wild bird surveillance program, Canadian Press reported Friday.

Additional testing needs to be done to identify which strains of H5 viruses were found.

Health officials say it is unlikely the viruses are the same asthe virulent H5N1 strain causing widespread outbreaks among birds in southeast Asia which has caused 68 human deaths.

Cases of H5 and H7 viruses have been found in Canada's British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec provinces recently. Earlier this week, a low pathogenic North American strain of H5 viruses was found on two poultry farms in British Columbia, leading to the culling of more than 110,000 birds.



 Xinhua news