03.12.2005

Ukraine

The H5 strain of avian influenza was found in chickens and geese in two districts on the Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, the Ukrainian Agricultural Policy Ministry's press service said Saturday.
The strain was found in the villages of Pushkino, Dzhankoyskiy district ; Zavet-Leninskoe, Dzhankoyskiy district ; Izobilnoe, Nizhnegorskiy district ; Yemelyanovka, Nizhnegorskiy district ; - Nekrasovka, Sovetskiy district - Republic of Crimea.
The birds tested positive for H5 strains of avian influenza, but it was not clear whether they have the H5N1 strain. Samples will be sent to laboratories in Britain or Italy.
On Friday, mass poultry deaths were reported in villages in the Sovetsky, Nizhnegorsky and Dzhankoi districts. A total of 1,500 birds have died, mostly domesticated chickens and geese.