Russia fights bird flu, no human cases
Russia said it has fought an outbreak of bird flu among birds in the country, and the infection has not spread to humans.
More than 1.3 million birds in the Southern Federal District and the Siberian Federal District have died of the ailment this year, and the country has taken preventative, anti-epidemiological, veterinary and sanitary measures to fight the infection and prevent its spread to humans, Itar-Tass reported Thursday.
The disease was found in 80 locations in the country, including six poultry farms.
A source with the Russian Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing told Itar-Tass the latest avian casualties from the disease were reported in the Republic of Tyva in August.
Since the first reported case in December 2003, bird flu has affected 256 people, 151 lethally, in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Turkey, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Djibouti, the World Health Organization has said.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
