June 8, 2006

Russia says it has lost 1.5 million birds to bird flu since January

About 1.5 million birds have died or been culled in Russia due to bird flu since the start of the year, the Agriculture Ministry said Wednesday (Jun 8).

Although bird flu did not cause any human deaths in Russia, figures in April showed that around 1.1 million birds had died of the disease and 300,000 had been culled since the beginning of February.

The ministry said 14 regions of Russia had been affected by the disease this year while two regions of Siberia are being monitored by the state veterinary service and ministry departments. Around six villages still has bird flu.