The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has ordered a quarantine of eight Quebec poultry farms that recently imported live ducks and hatching eggs from France, the latest country hit by a deadly avian influenza virus.

Agency official Doug Steadman said samples have been taken to test for the H5N1 virus and results are expected within the next few days, reports from Montreal said Wednesday.

He said the birds appear to be in good health and authorities are confident that they are not infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.

Canada has banned all live birds from France as well as poultry products that have not undergone heat processing.

Source: Xinhua