December 9, 2005

 

Ukraine sends bird flu samples for tests

 

 

Ukraine Thursday sent bird flu samples to a UK laboratory to test for the deadly H5N1 strain, officials said.

 

Ukraine recorded its first case of bird flu strain H5 Saturday, and Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Baranivsky said then samples had already been dispatched to laboratories for further tests. But officials said disarray in the veterinary department caused a delay.

 

"We've sent them only today as it's a long process to prepare samples, and besides our vet department was out of control," said spokesman for the Agricultural Ministry Oleksandr Horobets.

 

Horobets said results from the UK laboratory were expected in 10 days.

 

The outbreak of bird flu in marsh lands on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula prompted President Viktor Yushchenko to declare a state of emergency in the affected villages and order a mandatory cull. Ukrainians officials said the first deaths of birds had been reported as early as mid-October, but central government authorities were notified only much later.

 

Yushchenko accused the country's chief veterinarian Petro Verbitsky of negligence and had him relinquished his post on Wednesday.

 

Ukraine also reported on Thursday that more birds were dying in six additional Crimean villages close to the site of the nation's first outbreak of bird flu, officials said.

 

The Health Ministry said in a statement that the new mass deaths were not yet confirmed as bird flu.

 

The discovery came as Ukrainian officials had expressed hope the threat had been contained. Ukraine recorded its first cases of bird flu strain H5 Saturday in three Crimean regions.

 

The new deaths--if confirmed as bird flu--would extend the outbreak to one more Crimean region.