The spread of avian flu in the Fraser Valley region in Canada's western province had a brief lullearlier this week but it appeared to be on the march again on the weekend, reports reaching here said Saturday.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, ongoing surveillance has led to the detection of bird flu on 37 commercial premises. That's up one from Thursday and six from Monday. The agency said infected birds were also found at 10 so-called backyard lots and all have been slaughtered. Since February 19, when the agency detected the presence of avian influenza on one farm in the province's agricultural heartland, the virus has spread, primarily in the central Fraser Valley. Officials earlier this month made the decision to slaughter all to 19 million chickens, turkeys and other birds in the valley to try to eradicate the virus.  

Source: Xinhua