Russia warns of risk of bird flu passing to humans
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The risk of humans becoming infected with the deadly bird flu virus will remain high over coming weeks due to bird migration patterns, Russia’s emergencies ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said that new outbreaks of the H5N1 virus were possible in November, particularly in southern Russia as wild birds continued to migrate towards milder parts of Europe and the Middle East and into Africa.
“The possibility of people getting infected with bird flu still remains, especially those who have contacts with poultry, wild fowl or bird farms suspected of being infected with bird flu type A H5N1,” it said on its Web site, http://www.mchs.gov.ru .
There have been no human cases in Russia since the outbreak was first registered in Siberia, neighbouring Kazakhstan and Mongolia in July.
But Russians are still on high alert for reports of new cases of the virus, which has killed more than 60 people in Asia over the past two years and is now creeping into Europe and towards Africa.
The agriculture ministry said in a statement that vets had discovered bird flu in another village in the Urals region of Chelyabinsk, bringing the total number of infected settlements to 13, as of Thursday.
It did not say whether the Chelyabinsk village had the dangerous H5N1 type. The ministry said in a separate statement that 20 other villages were being investigated by health officials.
The prospect of the disease spreading further has prompted warnings that the virus might mutate in humans and unleash a global influenza pandemic that could kill millions.
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