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Bird
Flu Canada
A
joint survey of wild migratory ducks by Canadian Cooperative
Wildlife Health Centre, the Government of Canada, and provincial
governments found 33 infected with the bird flu in
Canada.
Preliminary tests indicate that the othewise
healthy ducks carried the H5 subtype. Five birds were in Quebec
and 28 in Manitoba.
Officials at the Canadian Food
Inspection Agency await results from follow-on testing to confirm
the H5 subtype and to determine the N type of the
virus.
Worldwide, health officials are concerned about the
H5N1 bird flu virus which has infected birds in Asia and Europe,
and has killed at least 62 people in Asia.
At present, the
H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has not been seen in
Canada.
The National Centre for Foreign Animal Diseases in
Winnipeg should complete testing on the Canadian birds in early
November.
Canadian
Food Inspection Agency officials stress that the
risk to humans of contracting the bird flu in Canada is low, but
that people handling wild birds, such as hunters, should follow
good safety practices.
The agency's press release
recommends routine hand washing and safe food preparation.
The
press release states that disinfecting surfaces, avoiding
cross-contamination with other food procucts, keeping raw meat
away from utinsils for other foods, and thoroughly cooking game
birds before eating will minimize the risks of preparing wild
birds.
For a more detailed report on effective hand
washing, read the report on How
To Prevent Bird Flu.
For more on the bird flu in Canada, see the news updates on our
homepage Latest Bird Flu News
and news from the wires on Bird
Flu News
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