The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has quarantined 8 Quebec poultry farms that recently imported live ducks and eggs from France, one the latest countries hit by a deadly avian influenza virus. Swab samples have been sent to Winnipeg for testing for the H5N1 avian influenza virus and results are expected within the next few days. It's a precautionary measure. At this point in time, none of these birds are showing any evidence of avian influenza. They all look fairly healthy. Several thousand day-old chicks were imported in the past month. The locations of the farms were not released, citing privacy concerns. Live poultry imported into Canada is automatically under quarantine for 28 days. The extra attention, including the testing and daily monitoring by agency staff, went into effect after Canadian officials implemented a ban Saturday on live birds from France as well as poultry products that have not undergone heat processing. Japan and Hong Kong have similar bans covering all of France while a U.S. ban applies only to products strictly from the affected area in the southeast. The H5N1 strain is feared largely because it has, in rare cases, infected humans in close contact with infected birds, mostly in Southeast Asia, and scientists are concerned the virus could mutate to pass from human to human and spark a human flu pandemic. As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization cited 174 human cases of avian influenza in seven countries, 94 of them fatal. The quarantine will stay in effect in Quebec at least until test results come back. Agency authorities have been to the farms daily to check on the quarantine. The ducks have not been culled. The appearance of H5N1 has had devastating effects on the poultry industry in other countries, where public fears have lowered demand for poultry products.

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