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Mix-Ansicht- Bird Flu? - CRASH_GURU, 02.11.2005, 20:35
Bird Flu?
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadian researchers admitted surprise over how many wild ducks in British Columbia appeared to be carrying bird flu, but stressed on Tuesday the waterfowl did not pose a health threat.
Samples from 704 birds found 24 percent tested positive for strains of the H5 subtype of avian influenza. None is believed to be the H5N1 strain that officials fear will infect humans, but more tests to identify the strains are being conducted.
"No question, we're surprised by large number of H5 samples... In this instance we do not believe any of these are pathogenic," British Columbia's chief veterinarian, Ron Lewis, told reporters.
There are H5 strains of influenza that do not result in the carrier getting sick, and none of the birds showed signs of being ill, Lewis said.
The migratory birds were sampled in a tagging program in August near Merritt, in British Columbia's Interior region, as part of a national study launched after an outbreak of bird flu in Canada near Vancouver in 2004.
"We've never tested birds in this flyway before so we have no idea if this is a normal factor, or whether they are increased numbers or decreased numbers, Lewis said.
British Columbia's chief health officer also downplayed concern over the birds, saying they were safe to be eaten if properly cooked.
"I would think that hunters have been shooting and killing and eating birds that carry H5 and H7 and other influenza viruses for centuries," Perry Kendall said.
Federal officials said on Monday that bird flu had also been found in migratory birds in Manitoba and Quebec.
None of the birds was found to be carrying the H7 strain of avian influenza that was blamed for the 2004 outbreak, which was believed to have started with a virus spread from a wild duck to a commercial chicken farm.
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