Poultry cull imposed to stop bird flu outbreak in south Russia
17:12 | 12/ 12/ 2007
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ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - About 500,000 chickens will be culled at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where 35,000 birds have died from bird flu since late November, a source in the local emergencies service said on Wednesday.
The birds started dying on November 29, and preliminary analysis showed traces of the lethal H5N1 virus, which has killed a total of 207 people across the globe since the virus first hit Asia in 2003.
"The decision to cull all the chickens was made on Tuesday evening, during a meeting of a local health and epidemiological commission, the cull will begin today," the source said.
The commission also decided to vaccinate all people and birds living in the village and six neighboring settlements.
Quarantine restrictions have been introduced at the border of the Krasnodar Territory.
This major outbreak is the third this year in Russia. The Krasnodar Territory, which is on the route taken by migrating birds in winter, was hit by the H5N1 strain in September, when a total of 230,000 birds were culled at the Lebyazhye-Chepiginskoye poultry farm.
In February, dead poultry with traces of the lethal virus were found in Moscow, eight districts of the Moscow Region and a district in the Kaluga Region. All cases were traced to a single market in southwest Moscow.
Although cases of human-to-human transmission of avian influenza have not been reported, scientists fear the virus could mutate into a strain that could pass easily from person to person, and as a result could cause a global pandemic.
17:12 | 12/ 12/ 2007
Print version
ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 12 (RIA Novosti) - About 500,000 chickens will be culled at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where 35,000 birds have died from bird flu since late November, a source in the local emergencies service said on Wednesday.
The birds started dying on November 29, and preliminary analysis showed traces of the lethal H5N1 virus, which has killed a total of 207 people across the globe since the virus first hit Asia in 2003.
"The decision to cull all the chickens was made on Tuesday evening, during a meeting of a local health and epidemiological commission, the cull will begin today," the source said.
The commission also decided to vaccinate all people and birds living in the village and six neighboring settlements.
Quarantine restrictions have been introduced at the border of the Krasnodar Territory.
This major outbreak is the third this year in Russia. The Krasnodar Territory, which is on the route taken by migrating birds in winter, was hit by the H5N1 strain in September, when a total of 230,000 birds were culled at the Lebyazhye-Chepiginskoye poultry farm.
In February, dead poultry with traces of the lethal virus were found in Moscow, eight districts of the Moscow Region and a district in the Kaluga Region. All cases were traced to a single market in southwest Moscow.
Although cases of human-to-human transmission of avian influenza have not been reported, scientists fear the virus could mutate into a strain that could pass easily from person to person, and as a result could cause a global pandemic.
