Friday, March 24, 2006
Azerbaijan warns of new bird flu outbreak
The head of Azerbaijan’s veterinary service said Friday that there was a high probability of a fresh outbreak of bird flu during the spring bird-migration season.
Following World Health Organization confirmation that five out of seven people earlier infected with bird flu in Azerbaijan had died, Ismail Gasanov said disturbing reports about growing risks were coming in from some parts of the country. He added that domestic poultry would be vaccinated and control over poultry farms would be tightened.
At the same time he said there were substantially fewer wildfowl deaths in the republic because migratory birds were already leaving the country.