WASHINGTON (AFP) — A more benign strain of the deadly bird flu virus that has ravaged poultry farms in Asia, Europe and other parts of the world has been discovered near the US capital in an indication the pathogen may be making inroads into North America, the US government reported. But while admitting that the virus was the fearsome H5N1, officials assured Friday that it was a low pathogenic subtype, “which poses no threat to human health.” The Departments of Agriculture and the Interior said in a joint statement that the virus was discovered on August 2 in bird droppings in an area inhabited by wild mallard ducks in Queen Anne’s County, in eastern Maryland.
The birds showed no signs of sickness, the officials said, but the samples had been sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, which reported at the end of last month that nine …
Information provided by: Findarticles.com
