The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said on Monday that it is "closely monitoring" an outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, in the United States, but sees no need yet to restrict American poultry imports.

"The infected chickens in US state of Delaware are part of a non-commercial flock," the federal agency said in a statement.

Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa have banned poultry imports from the United States.

Authorities in Delaware ordered the destruction of about 12,000 farm chickens on Friday after test results confirmed that a flock was infected with a mild version of bird flu.