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PRECAUTIONARY QUARANTINE IN PLACE ON BRITISH COLUMBIA MAINLAND

Related Pages: 2005-12-10 | 2005-11-20 | 2005-11-18

VICTORIA, November 18, 2005 - As a precautionary measure, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have quarantined a commercial farm in British Columbia, where a duck has tested positive for an avian influenza-type virus. It is important to note that this recent development does not indicate a threat to human health.

The positive sample was confirmed today at the Provincial Animal Health Centre lab in Abbotsford. The sample will now be sent to the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD) in Winnipeg for further testing to fully characterize the virus and confirm its strain and pathogenicity. The NCFAD is Canada’s national reference laboratory for avian influenza. Testing is being conducted on a priority basis, results will be communicated as soon as they are available.

The measures being implemented are consistent with the pre-emptive strategies arising from the joint industry-government reviews following the 2004 Abbotsford control activities and current recommendations of the World Organization for Animal Health.

Visit the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands online at www.gov.bc.ca/mal or the CFIA at www.inspection.gc.ca for more information.

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