Poultry at a West Kootenay residence have been found to have domestic avian influenza, the latest case in B.C. as the contagious virus continues to spread.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has placed the property under quarantine while producers within 12 kilometres have been notified of the test results, according to a statement Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

The ministry did not say where the residence is, except that it is within the Regional District of Central Kootenay. The regional district includes the Nelson, Castlegar and Creston areas.

The H5N1 strain had previously killed one bird in Vancouver in February and has spread in April with cases reported in Delta, Vancouver, Bowen Island, Lac la Hache, Vanderhoof and Kelowna and the North Okanagan.

The virus can infect food-producing birds such as chickens and turkeys as well as wild birds and pets.

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