Bird flu harmful to humans found in Siberia -paper

MOSCOW (Reuters) – A strain of bird flu harmful to humans
has been found in Siberia, where thousands of birds have died
in an outbreak of the disease, a Russian newspaper said on
Saturday, quoting findings by official experts.

The newspaper Kommersant quoted the state veterinary
service as saying laboratory experts had found the H5N1 strain
in samples from the Novosibirsk region, where an outbreak of
bird flu was reported last week.

Bird flu is split into strains such as H5 and H7, which in
turn have nine different subtypes. H5N1 subtype is highly
pathogenic and can be passed from birds to humans, although
there have been no known cases of human-human transmission.

More than 50 people have died in Asia from H5N1 since late
2003, raising fears it could mutate and form the basis of a new
global epidemic.

Officials were not immediately available for comment. There
have been no reports about people contracting bird flu.

Russian officials initially said the outbreak — first
detected with significant mortality on July 18 — has been
caused by H5N2 strain, which does not affect humans.

Russia’s top epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, has said
migratory birds, possibly from Southeast Asia, could have
brought flu with them as they flew to Siberia for the summer.

Itar-Tass news agency said quarantine had been imposed in
four districts of Novosibirsk region affected by bird flu.