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Russia reports bird flu in sixth region

Posted on: Monday, 15 August 2005, 02:25 CDT

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A bird flu outbreak in Russia appeared to be spreading westward on Monday after officials confirmed the virus had broken out in a sixth region since the epidemic struck the country in mid-July.

It was unclear whether the virus found in the Urals region of Chelyabinsk was the deadly H5N1 strain that has killed more than 50 people in Asia since 2003. It has been confirmed in a number of Siberian regions and neighboring Kazakhstan.

Interfax news agency quoted Andrei Gasilov, vice-governor of Chelyabinsk, as saying the virus had killed 60 birds in the village of Oktyabrskoye on the Kazakh border since Saturday.

Other Russian regions hit by the flu include Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kurgan and Altai.

Chelyabinsk, which borders Kurgan on the east side of the Ural mountains dividing Europe and Asia, is the westmost region to have been struck so far.

The Emergencies Ministry in Moscow, contacted by Reuters, could not confirm the Chelyabinsk outbreak.

Although no humans have yet been affected, there are fears the disease could spread to humans on the Eurasian landmass, possibly unleashing a global influenza pandemic.

Interfax quoted Gasilov as saying domestic birds were being culled in the village to prevent the virus, which has killed more than 10,000 birds countrywide, from spreading further.

Officials said wild birds, increasingly active in August as they prepare to migrate to warmer regions in Europe, Asia and America, were to blame.

"Results of epizootic checks have shown that they (migrant birds) are the main source of infection," Ria-Novosti news agency quoted an official with the Novosibirsk state consumer rights watchdog as saying.

Source: REUTERS

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