Even if the bird flu were detected in Québec or elsewhere in Canada, generally speaking, Québecers would not be at risk of contracting the disease, given the means by which the virus is transmitted from infected birds.

Ongoing monitoring
Around the world, international and national public health authorities and animal health surveillance authorities are closely monitoring the situation, both in terms of the spread of the Asian strain of the H5N1 influenza virus and its genetic changes. In Québec and Canada, the government departments and organizations involved have put in place measures to quickly detect the possible arrival of the avian flu and to stop it from spreading. Scientists are closely monitoring the virus’s progress in order to determine the possible appearance of the genetic characteristics that would allow it to be transmitted between humans.