BEIJING, Nov. 1 -- Nearly three dozen wild ducks have tested positive for the H5 bird flu virus in Canada, but officials said it was unlikely to be the fatal strain blamed for more than 60 human deaths in Southeast Asia.

    Jim Clark of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it would take at least a week to determine whether the flu found in 33 ducks from the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba was the deadly H5N1 strain that has ravaged Asian poultry farms.

    But he told reporters that it was unlikely to be the same strain because none of the wild ducks tested showed signs of illness.

    "I can't categorically state that we're dealing with here isn't an H5N1. It's highly unlikely. We have no information suggesting any new threat to human health." Clark said.

    The World Health Organisation says the H5N1 outbreaks in Southeast Asia have infected 121 people and caused 62 deaths in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. Vietnam has been hardest hit, with more than 40 deaths and tens of millions of poultry destroyed.

    Canada had an outbreak of bird flu in 2004, but it was the less harmful H7 virus, which isn't believed to pose a serious risk to humans. About 17 million birds in British Columbia were slaughtered in early 2004 in an effort to stamp out any spread of the virus.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)