December 7, 2005

New bird flu cases detected in southern Russia

Veterinary authorities have detected new bird flu cases in a region of southern Russia, but it has yet to be determined if it is the deadly Asian strain, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday citing a regional veterinary official.

A number of dead and sick swans were found Nov 26 on the shores of the Caspian Sea in the Kalmykia region, the report said. Initial laboratory tests confirmed the swans had bird flu but further tests would be required, said Andrei Akdamov, deputy regional head of the Russian veterinary service.

Late last month, the veterinary service identified bird flu in 200 swans found dead in the Volga River delta in the southern Astrakhan region. It has yet to be determined if it was the H5N1 strain in Astrakhan or Kalmykia.

The H5N1 strain has devastated poultry stocks and killed at least 68 people in Asia since 2003. Experts fear it could mutate into a form easily transmitted between humans, possibly sparking a global pandemic.

In October, this strain of bird flu spread west of the Ural Mountains, hitting the village of Yandovka, about 350 kilometres south of Moscow. No humans have been infected by bird flu in Russia.