Avian flu found on Man. farm not deadly H5N1

A strain of avian flu discovered at a Manitoba turkey farm is not the potentiallydeadly H5N1, officials said Thursday.

Health officials said the strain discovered on the breeding farm is confirmed to be H5N2. Avian flu is also known as bird flu.

H5N2 is common in wild birds such as ducks and geese, and has been found before in turkeys, including a 2009 outbreak in British Columbia's Fraser Valley that resulted in thousands of birds being destroyed.

The strain found north of Winnipeg is more mild than the one in B.C., officials said.

The farm, located in the Rural Municipality of Rockwood, remained under quarantine Thursday.

All 8,200turkeys on the farmwill be destroyed within days, officials said.

The farm is under quarantine, as are a nearby hatchery and two other farms that had contact with the turkey operation.

According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 has killed 260 people worldwide and led to the cull of millions of birds.

In announcing the discovery Wednesday, health officials said the risk to humans was low and there was little chance H5N1 would be found.

They stressed the food supply is not affected and turkey remains safe to eat as long as it is properly cooked.