November 23, 2005

US wants more details on Canadian bird flu discovery

The USDA is maintaining a ban on poultry from mainland British Columbia while US officials wait for details from Canada on its discovery of a strain of bird flu in the province, a spokesman said.

Jim Rogers, spokesman for USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said the ban might be scaled back after the US gets more details on the discovery that was made in a commercial duck farm.

"We're going to work with Canada to get more information," Rogers said.

Brian Evans, Canada's chief veterinary officer, said Monday that foreign countries could choose to focus their bans narrowly to a zone within the province of British Columbia, according to the Canadian Press.