H5N1 Found in Southern Russia
The H5N1 strain of bird flu virus has been found in dozens of dead birds in Russia’s southern province of Volgograd, officials in the province told AFP.
“Today the provincial veterinary laboratory confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus in the blood of dead birds” found at a farmyard at the village of Vesyoly, a statement from Volgograd provincial administration said.
Preventive work including disinfection is being carried out and two million doses of bird flu vaccine have been sent to the province from Moscow, the statement said.
Russia’s chief veterinarian warned last week that bird flu was posing a growing threat to the country.
“Last year the virus affected 62 towns in 10 Russian regions, while since the start of 2006, already 56 towns in nine regions have been affected,” Sergei Dankvert said at a veterinarians’ conference.
In its most dangerous form H5N1 can be deadly to humans and scientists worry that it could mutate into a form transmissible from human to human.