Washington ? The United States has relaxed a ban on poultry imports from British Columbia initially sparked by the discovery of bird flu in a duck raised in the Canadian province.

The strain of bird flu is now known to be low-pathogenic and poses no threat to human health, unlike the more virulent form in Asia that has killed dozens of people, the Agriculture Department.

U.S. officials said they banned on Nov. 21 all poultry imports from British Columbia until their Canadian counterparts could identify the virus, later found on a second, nearby farm as well. Several Asian countries that quickly followed the U.S. lead now are expected to relax their bans as well.