If it was avian flu that killed a P.E.I. gosling, the strain is too weak to be a threat to animals or humans, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

"Whatever virus is there, we're reasonably certain it is so low in pathogenicity there's difficulty maintaining it and reproducing it," aid Dr. Jim Clark, national manager of CFIA's avian influenza working group.

Tests at a CFIA lab in Winnipeg found no avian flu in the gosling that died in O'Leary, but another test must be conducted to confirm the result.

"What we have left at this point in time is one final test at our laboratory, and that will be an attempt to try and grow the virus in embryonated eggs, which will take another 10 to 12 days to come to completion," said Clark.

Last Friday, the Atlantic Veterinary College reported that initial tests had detected traces of a strain of the H5 virus in the gosling, one of four found dead on the farm. The rest of the flock was destroyed to contain the virus, and the owner will be compensated for loss of the birds.

"It's possible that there was insufficient or very low quantities of virus present. It's possible that the virus itself had died because the test does not detect the virus itself. It detects nucleic acid," said Clark.

"The nucleic acid was definitely present there because that's the PCR positive test. In transporting the sample to the lab it's possible the amount of virus or the amount of nucleic acid there has degraded in that period of time and simply taken the detectable amount below the threshold that test is capable of detecting."

The farm where the bird was found will remain under quarantine until the final test is complete.

Clark stirred controversy earlier this week, when he suggested the possible presence of an H5 avian flu on the Island meant farmers should lock up their poultry.

Although different types of avian flu have been discovered in some birds in Canada, none have contained the deadly H5N1 strain.

That strain has claimed more than 100 lives around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Most of the deaths were among people who were in close contact with infected poultry.