|
INSIDE
Mad cow.
Bird flu. What next? Tainted pig?
The border
is still closed to uncooked chicken to stop the spread of avian
flu after a strain of the virus was discovered in a duck in
the Fraser Valley.
“When
bird flu is discovered in various countries we stop importation,” said
customs and border protection representative Mike Milne.
Canadian
officials confirmed November 20 the strain of virus found
in the B.C. duck was a low-pathogenic North American stain,
different from the strain that is circulating in Asia with
the potential to infect humans and different from the strain
that led to the slaughter of millions of birds in the Abbotsford
area last year. Nevertheless the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
planned to depopulate the farm where the infected duck was
found to prevent the virus from spreading.
To stop
the flu spreading into the U.S. local ports of entry are stopping
the importation of live or raw poultry products which includes
pet birds and raw eggs.
|