Virus Threatens Russian Cattle
January 25, 2008
A state of emergency has been declared in rural Russia due to a viral disease sweeping through a cattle herd, government officials said Friday.
The Russian Emergencies Ministry told the Itar-Tass news agency 365 head of cattle died of the respiratory ailment while 124 others were put down at a farm in Irkutsk.
Itar-Tass did not identify the disease, but said there was no evidence it was spreading and vaccines had been delivered to the area.
The farm near the village of Pivovarikha is a research center for the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences and lost about half of its herd.