Russian region culls birds after flu outbreak

By Aleksandras Budrys

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Siberian region of Novosibirsk
said on Tuesday it will slaughter 65,000 birds in 13 locations
as more cases were confirmed on Tuesday of a strain of bird flu
dangerous to humans.

“It has been decided to slaughter all hens, ducks, geese
and turkeys at farms where the virus had been detected. The
farms’ owners will be paid compensation for all the birds that
are killed and provided with safe poultry meat and eggs at a
discount price,” a Novosibirsk administration spokeswoman said.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu which can spread to humans has
so far been officially confirmed in three Siberian regions –
Novosibirsk, Altai and Tyumen, and is thought to have been
brought to Russia by migrant birds from China.

The first cases were confirmed in Novosibirsk on Friday,
followed by Altai on Monday. An outbreak of the virus was also
confirmed in a village in the south of Tyumen, the Agriculture
Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

So far no cases of humans being infected with bird flu had
been registered.

The Altai Region, located between Novosibirsk and
Kazakhstan, also announced a cull of all birds at private farms
where the virus had been found, the regional administration
said in a statement without giving details.

It also said Russia’s veterinary service is considering a
ban on wild bird hunting in Siberia, the Urals and the
country’s Far East this year because of the bird flu outbreak.

The hunting season in these territories, which cover most
of Russia, normally starts at the end of August.

Bird flu comes in different strains, such as H5 and H7,
which have nine different subtypes. The H5N1 subtype is very
harmful and can be passed from birds to humans, although there
have been no cases of human to human transmission.

VIRUS SEEN SPREADING

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

A senior Russian veterinary official said on Monday that
chances were “very high” that the virus could spread to other
parts of the country and even to the European Union.

He said that wild birds could also have carried the virus
to Kazakhstan, where last month death of poultry was reported
in the northern Pavlodar region bordering Russia. The presence
of the virus there has not yet been officially confirmed.

Russian media said on Tuesday that many large poultry farms
in the regions close to Novosibirsk were taking extraordinary
measures against bird flu. Veterinary experts were
investigating unexplained deaths of birds in various Siberian
regions.

Russia’s growing bird flu crisis could drive up imports of
poultry. Russia, which annually consumes more than 2 million
tonnes of poultry meat, already imports more than half its
needs. The main suppliers are the United States, Brazil and the
European Union.