July 24, 2007

Bird deaths in Ukraine throws up possibility of bird flu

The deaths of 170 birds in 11 farms in Ukraine's Zhytomyr Region last week has sparked bird flu fears in the country, Ukrainian newspaper Kommersant-Ukraina reported Monday 23 July. 

However, the Emergencies Ministry and the regional veterinary service have ruled out the possibility of a bird flu outbreak, stating that the birds died of the Newcastle disease which poses no threat to humans. The region's service for epidemic control said however it was too early to determine the cause of the disease.

Birds started dying in the town in Malyn District of Zhytomyr Region on July 11, but the deaths were made known to authorities only last week, after more than 100 birds have died.

The region's veterinary service concluded that the death was caused by the virus of the Newcastle disease. According to the veterinarians, the fact that only young birds that developed no immunity to this disease died proves that the deaths were caused by the virus.

The region's service for epidemic control said unofficially that the conclusions was made too soon. A source at the regional service for epidemic control said that "the region has no capability to establish whether the birds were infected with bird flu.