TORONTO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Internet speculation over a potential human case of bird flu in the Canadian province of Quebec is untrue, a health official said on Wednesday. "It's not true," Quebec Health Ministry spokeswoman Helene Gingras told Reuters. "We have no signs (of) that." Earlier, at least one Web site dedicated to avian flu posted a report of a 9-year-old boy hospitalized in the town of Rimouski, Quebec. The Internet discussion forum, which cited no specific sources and was headlined "Suspect H5N1 Patient in Rimouski Quebec Canada?" stated the boy had pneumonia and was in isolation. H5N1 is a strain of bird flu that is potentially deadly to humans. Experts fear it could trigger a pandemic if it evolves to become easily transmissible between people. Rimouski is a town of about 42,000, roughly 310 km (193 miles) north of Quebec City.
