North American bird flu found in Canada

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The United States has banned the import of live birds from Canada after samples from a poultry farm tested positive for a strain of bird flu.

The Canadian Food Inspection Service Agency said it was the the North American H7N3 virus, not the H5N1 virus that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa.

The virus was detected at a commercial broiler breeder farm in Saskatchewan, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a release.

The USDA said that it has barred imports of all live birds, including chickens, turkeys and others, along with unprocessed avian products from the entire province of Saskatchewan. The agency said the United States has not imported poultry products from Saskatchewan since 2005.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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