Bird flu present in 47 Russian villages: agriculture ministry
MOSCOW - Russia's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that the deadly bird flu epidemic was present in 47 villages, while another 80 villages were being kept under observation.
The statement came after Russia's sanitary chief, Gennady Onishzhenko, said last week that the bird flu outbreak that has spread to seven Russian provinces was under control and stabilising fast.
Wednesday's statement said that bird flu had spread to one additional village in the west Siberian province of Tyumen, while a quarantine imposed earlier on three other villages had been lifted.
Experts believe that migratory birds travelling from Asia brought bird flu to Russia.
The discovery has prompted Russian officials to slaughter tens of thousands of poultry lest the country's poultry industry be ruined.
Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed more than 60 people in Asia could mutate to a form easily transmissible between humans.
The virus' westward spread has intensified debate in the European Union over how to protect poultry stocks.
A number of countries have imposed full or partial bans on bird product imports from Russia and Kazakhstan, where a bird flu outbreak has also been recorded.
08/31/2005 13:33 GMT
The statement came after Russia's sanitary chief, Gennady Onishzhenko, said last week that the bird flu outbreak that has spread to seven Russian provinces was under control and stabilising fast.
Wednesday's statement said that bird flu had spread to one additional village in the west Siberian province of Tyumen, while a quarantine imposed earlier on three other villages had been lifted.
Experts believe that migratory birds travelling from Asia brought bird flu to Russia.
The discovery has prompted Russian officials to slaughter tens of thousands of poultry lest the country's poultry industry be ruined.
Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 strain of bird flu that has killed more than 60 people in Asia could mutate to a form easily transmissible between humans.
The virus' westward spread has intensified debate in the European Union over how to protect poultry stocks.
A number of countries have imposed full or partial bans on bird product imports from Russia and Kazakhstan, where a bird flu outbreak has also been recorded.
08/31/2005 13:33 GMT
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