Canadian goose tests negative for bird flu

The young goose that died on a poultry farm in Prince Edward Island last week tested negative for avian flu the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has said. Another test need to confirm the result, an agency official said.

Last week, the Atlantic Veterinary College reported that initial tests had found traces of a strain of the H5 virus in the gosling, one of four found dead on a farm in O'Leary, about 130 kilometres west of Charlottetown.

However, the CFIA lab in Winnipeg said Tuesday that further testing at a lab in Winnipeg does not support the initial findings.

Dr. Jim Clark, national manager of CFIA's avian influenza working group, said the reason for the different result could be due to insufficient or very low quantities of virus present in the sample.

The farm where the bird was found will remain under quarantine until the final test is complete.

Although different types of avian flu have been discovered in some birds in Canada, none have contained the deadly H5N1 strain.

A second farm in Canada's Prince Edward Island has been placed under quarantine. Clark said they had not discovered any signs of bird flu on the farm under quarantine, but CFIA decided to quarantine it as a precautionary measure because they found there had been movement of people and perhaps poultry between it and the farm where the first suspected goose was discovered.

Editor WorldPoultry