Russia registers new birdflu outbreaks

Russia’s Agriculture Ministry said on Friday that new bird flu outbreaks had been registered in three Russian regions already hit by the virus.

A ministry statement said outbreaks had been confirmed in the Tambov region, 400 km (298 miles) southeast of Moscow, in Omsk region in eastern Siberia and Kurgan in southern Urals.

The statement did not identify the strain of the virus, and gave no other details.

Since late 2003, the H5N1 strain of bird flu virus has killed more than 60 people in four Asian countries and spread as far west as European Russia, Turkey, Romania and Croatia, tracking the paths of migratory birds.

Russia has been fighting bird flu since mid-July and has culled more than 600,000 domestic fowl.

Local news agencies quoted Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev as saying on Friday that bird flu would disappear in Russia in a couple of weeks, after most migratory birds leave the country. 

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