Bird Flu Spreads Westward in Russia
Created: 15.08.2005 19:32 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 19:32 MSK, 4 hours 11 minutes ago
Denis Bulanichev, Alina Chernoivanov
Gazeta.ru
Bird flu in Russia has reached the Chelyabinsk region from southern Siberia. This is the sixth region in the country where the AH5N1 strain of the virus has been discovered in domestic birds. And while it is potentially deadly for humans, no human cases have been registered yet.
On Monday, the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals became the sixth to join the contaminated zone. Veterinarians registered the outbreak in the settlement of Oktyabrskoye, where 60 birds died over the weekend, the region’s vice governor, Andrei Kosilov, announced on Monday. And experts have already identified the cause — testing the dead birds revealed the deadly strain. To avoid spread, local authorities decided to cull 400 domestic birds, including 270 chickens, 60 ducks, and 70 geese.
According to Kosilov’s announcement, the region surrounding the town has been quarantined. Experts have established a sanitation checkpoint and organized mass culling. The Oktyabrskoye region has over 25,000 birds. But not all of the birds will be culled, Kosilov said — only those infected or having contact with infected birds. “Veterinarians will closely monitor the infection among birds, and birds will only be destroyed after an infection is found.”
Russia’s Agricultural Directorate head Sergei Dankvert noted that the town is very close to a lake that borders the Kurgan region and Kazakhstan. These places have registered outbreaks of bird flu, and epidemiologists say that the virus was spread by wild migratory birds that spend their summers in these places.
The Novosibirsk region was the first place where infection was registered. The first deaths were noted in the town of Suzdalka on July 21, when about 200 chickens and geese died. On August 1, authorities in the Novosibirsk region announced a quarantine of 13 settlements in four districts. Since then, over 55,000 birds have been destroyed, said regional governor Viktor Tolokonsky.
If Novosibirsk bird farms had not registered a single case of bird flu, a small farm in Mamont, in the Altai region where the outbreak spread, discovered its birds were sick. Initially, the owner of the private farm tried to hide his outbreak from the authorities, and will now face criminal penalties.
According to the Emergency Ministry, meanwhile, over 10,000 domestic and wild birds died of bird flu in Russia since July 21, while hundreds of thousands of birds were culled.
By Monday, the outbreak continued to spread: three more residential areas in the Novosibirsk region were include into the areas contaminated with the virus. However, in two residential areas, medical monitoring has been stopped. According to the Consumer Products Directorate, bird loss has stopped in a majority of previously infected regions such as Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Tyumen.
As of August 14, no humans who came into contact with dead birds have contracted the virus, said the directorate.
Still, the story told by a Novosibirsk TV reporter, Maria Pashkova, sparked wide resonance. Pashkova told Gazeta.ru that she suffered a high fever and headache the day after shooting at a contaminated residential area. “I called the doctors, and after learning that I had been in a quarantined zone, they sent me to a state infectious diseases facility that is part of the Vektor Institute.”
Sergei Netesov of the Vektor Molecular Biology Institute told Gazeta.ru that this was standard procedure for everyone who could have come into contact with the virus. The results of Pashkova’s tests will be known on August 17, but now she says she is feeling fine. “I think it was just a cold,” she says.
The Altai region is also implementing protective measures for its population. And while local authorities say there is no need to announce a quarantine, medical personnel conduct daily checks in areas where people may have come into contact with sick birds. The regional administration has ordered all medical facilities to be prepared to treat anyone with symptoms of bird flu. “We are stocking up on anti-viral medication and the necessary medical equipment,” Igor Saldan of the Altai Regional Consumer Products Directorate was quoted as saying. Moreover, routine flu vaccines will begin early this year — in September. Such measures are taken to help prevent a cross mutation between the common flu and the bird flu — which could lead to a pandemic.
Denis Bulanichev, Alina Chernoivanov
Gazeta.ru
Bird flu in Russia has reached the Chelyabinsk region from southern Siberia. This is the sixth region in the country where the AH5N1 strain of the virus has been discovered in domestic birds. And while it is potentially deadly for humans, no human cases have been registered yet.
On Monday, the Chelyabinsk region in the southern Urals became the sixth to join the contaminated zone. Veterinarians registered the outbreak in the settlement of Oktyabrskoye, where 60 birds died over the weekend, the region’s vice governor, Andrei Kosilov, announced on Monday. And experts have already identified the cause — testing the dead birds revealed the deadly strain. To avoid spread, local authorities decided to cull 400 domestic birds, including 270 chickens, 60 ducks, and 70 geese.
According to Kosilov’s announcement, the region surrounding the town has been quarantined. Experts have established a sanitation checkpoint and organized mass culling. The Oktyabrskoye region has over 25,000 birds. But not all of the birds will be culled, Kosilov said — only those infected or having contact with infected birds. “Veterinarians will closely monitor the infection among birds, and birds will only be destroyed after an infection is found.”
Russia’s Agricultural Directorate head Sergei Dankvert noted that the town is very close to a lake that borders the Kurgan region and Kazakhstan. These places have registered outbreaks of bird flu, and epidemiologists say that the virus was spread by wild migratory birds that spend their summers in these places.
The Novosibirsk region was the first place where infection was registered. The first deaths were noted in the town of Suzdalka on July 21, when about 200 chickens and geese died. On August 1, authorities in the Novosibirsk region announced a quarantine of 13 settlements in four districts. Since then, over 55,000 birds have been destroyed, said regional governor Viktor Tolokonsky.
If Novosibirsk bird farms had not registered a single case of bird flu, a small farm in Mamont, in the Altai region where the outbreak spread, discovered its birds were sick. Initially, the owner of the private farm tried to hide his outbreak from the authorities, and will now face criminal penalties.
According to the Emergency Ministry, meanwhile, over 10,000 domestic and wild birds died of bird flu in Russia since July 21, while hundreds of thousands of birds were culled.
By Monday, the outbreak continued to spread: three more residential areas in the Novosibirsk region were include into the areas contaminated with the virus. However, in two residential areas, medical monitoring has been stopped. According to the Consumer Products Directorate, bird loss has stopped in a majority of previously infected regions such as Omsk, Novosibirsk, and Tyumen.
As of August 14, no humans who came into contact with dead birds have contracted the virus, said the directorate.
Still, the story told by a Novosibirsk TV reporter, Maria Pashkova, sparked wide resonance. Pashkova told Gazeta.ru that she suffered a high fever and headache the day after shooting at a contaminated residential area. “I called the doctors, and after learning that I had been in a quarantined zone, they sent me to a state infectious diseases facility that is part of the Vektor Institute.”
Sergei Netesov of the Vektor Molecular Biology Institute told Gazeta.ru that this was standard procedure for everyone who could have come into contact with the virus. The results of Pashkova’s tests will be known on August 17, but now she says she is feeling fine. “I think it was just a cold,” she says.
The Altai region is also implementing protective measures for its population. And while local authorities say there is no need to announce a quarantine, medical personnel conduct daily checks in areas where people may have come into contact with sick birds. The regional administration has ordered all medical facilities to be prepared to treat anyone with symptoms of bird flu. “We are stocking up on anti-viral medication and the necessary medical equipment,” Igor Saldan of the Altai Regional Consumer Products Directorate was quoted as saying. Moreover, routine flu vaccines will begin early this year — in September. Such measures are taken to help prevent a cross mutation between the common flu and the bird flu — which could lead to a pandemic.
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