Russia registers new birdflu outbreaks

Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said on Friday that new bird flu outbreaks had been registered in three Russian regions already hit by the virus.

A ministry statement said outbreaks had been confirmed in the Tambov region, 400 km (298 miles) southeast of Moscow, in Omsk region in eastern Siberia and Kurgan in southern Urals.

The statement did not identify the strain of the virus, and gave no other details.

Since late 2003, the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus has killed more than 60 people in four Asian countries and spread as far west as European Russia, Turkey, Romania and Croatia, tracking the paths of migratory birds.

Russia has been fighting bird flu since mid-July and has culled more than 600,000 domestic fowl.

Local news agencies quoted Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev as saying on Friday that bird flu would disappear in Russia in a couple of weeks, after most migratory birds leave the country.

Print Version
Tell-a-Friend comments powered by Disqus

RELATED ARTICLES:

Tamiflu-resistant influenza: Parsing the genome for the culprits   Potential new target for combating annual seasonal influenza   Fungus-fighting drug may make mild flu meaner   Deadly new bird flu vindicates controversial research   Bird flu may not be so deadly after all, new analysis claims   Man dies of bird flu in southwest China: Xinhua   A comparison of severe outcomes during the waves of pandemic (H1N1) 2009   What next for the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic?   Study finds body’s potential universal flu defense   Experimental flu treatment may help related virus   Independent experts to review pandemic handling - WHO   Common Cold Symptoms Not Washed Away by Nose Irrigation