December 13, 2005

 

Ukraine reports bird flu in 12 Crimean villages

 

 

The outbreak of bird flu in Ukraine has expanded to at least 12 villages on the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine's top emergency official said Monday, while 10 other places have reported mass bird deaths.

 

"Today we have bird flu in 12 locations," Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloga told journalists after returning from the Black Sea peninsula, where officials have been working to contain the outbreak since it was first recorded in six villages Dec 4.

 

Five new locations recorded mass bird deaths, the Health Ministry said Monday, bringing the total to 20 villages and two cities. Tests for bird flu are continuing.

 

Authorities will seize all domestic birds in three newly affected villages Tuesday and complete culling them by the end of the week, Baloga said.

 

Among areas still being monitored are Crimea's regional capital, Simferopol, and another city, Feodosiya. It was not known how many birds had died.

 

Ukraine announced its first case of bird flu Dec 4, revealing that 2,500 domestic fowl had died suddenly in a marsh area near the Azov Sea. Since then, 37,405 domestic fowl have been slaughtered as part of a mandatory cull.

 

More than 11,000 people have been vaccinated against flu in the affected villages, government officials said, and WHO experts arrived to examine the situation and to assist in efforts to stop the infection's spread.

 

Friday, a Russian laboratory said it confirmed the virus was the same strain that decimated flocks in Asia, but Ukrainian officials said they were waiting for findings from a UK laboratory, due this week.

 

Nicola Belev, a top European veterinary official, said after visiting the Crimea that "Ukraine's government has carried out all necessary measures to localize and to stop the spread of the disease.

 

"Positive results can be expected in the near future," he said.

 

Experts fear the H5N1 strain of bird flu could trigger a human flu pandemic if it mutates into a form easily spread between people. Since 2003, the virus has killed at least 69 people in Asia - most of them farm workers who came into close contact with infected birds.

 

No cases of human infection have been recorded in Ukraine, officials said. Medical examinations have been conducted on 61,778 people.

 

President Viktor Yushchenko has imposed a state of emergency and quarantine in three Crimean regions.