The Canadian agency responsible for food inspections said it was conducting further tests to determine the precise strain of the virus and the severity of the infection.
Preliminary testing confirmed the presence of H5 in a farm near Woodstock, Ontario, after the sudden deaths of birds over several days, the The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Monday, 6 April 2015.
The agency "has placed the farm, and a neighboring farm, under quarantine to control disease spread and the industry sector has been notified to adopt enhanced biosecurity practices," it said. All the birds on the infected farm are to be killed.
The agency said avian flu does not pose a risk to food safety if the poultry is properly handled and cooked, and rarely affects humans not in constant contact with the birds.
But it said, "public health authorities stand ready to take precautionary measures as warranted."
At the end of 2014, several poultry farms in British Columbia were hit by the H5N2 virus, resulting in large scale culling of birds and a ban on trade in poultry products with the United States.
Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge
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