The US Department of Agriculture placed an interim ban on poultry imports from British Columbia (BC) following a positive test for a low-pathogenic form of H5N1 avian influenza.

The virus, which is carried by many migrating waterfowl, was detected in October in 33 wild ducks in Quebec and Manitoba. However, the import ban was implemented after a duck from a commercial flock tested positive in BC.

According to officials, low-pathogenic H5N1 does not kill birds or offer any health risks to humans.

Interim bans typically last 21 days. Canada has depopulated about 70,000 birds and has locked down a five-mile radius.