US steps up tests for bird flu after Canadian incident
 

The Washington Department of Agriculture (WDA) is stepping up testing at Whatcom County farms after a bird flu virus was found in turkeys just across the border in British Columbia.
 
WDA spokesman Jason Kelly said the agency is asking 13 farms that regularly send in eggs for testing to send in an additional batch to be tested for H5 avian influenza.
 
Kelly said Washington has never had a confirmed case of bird flu, and the department does not expect the virus to cross the border, but officials want to be sure.
 
The virus was confirmed Saturday (Jan 24) at a commercial farm in Abbotsford. Canadian officials say as many as 60,000 birds could be euthanized because of the disease.