December 30, 2005

Ukraine lifts bird flu state of emergency in Crimea

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko has lifted the bird flu state of emergency in the Crimean peninsula, according to official sources.

The government also declared that the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has been eradicated from the region, and authorities would take preventive measures against renewed outbreaks.

Ukraine's Crimean peninsula first reported bird flu outbreaks early this month, and almost 70,000 poultry have been culled already.

Local authorities have also compensated residents affected by the culling a total of about US$290,000.

The country has not reported any human cases of the disease so far.