15.08.2005

A avian influenza outbreak in Russia appeared to be spreading westward on Monday after officials confirmed the virus had broken out west to the Ural mountains region of Chelyabinsk, since the epidemic struck the country in mid-July. Chelyabinsk is the sixth region affected. The others -- Altai, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Kurgan, Omsk -- are further east in Siberia.
Interfax news agency quoted Andrei Gasilov, vice-governor of Chelyabinsk (Black), as saying the virus had killed 60 birds in the village of Oktyabrskoye on the Kazakh border since Saturday.
Other Russian regions hit by the flu include Novosibirsk (Blue), Tyumen (Yellow), Omsk (Red), Kurgan (Gray) and Altai (Orange).
Chelyabinsk, which borders Kurgan on the east side of the Ural mountains dividing Europe and Asia, is the westmost region to have been struck so far.
Avian influenza affects ten Altai districts with population of 30,000
Avian influenza is raging in ten districts of Russia's Altai territory with a population of over 30,000 people, the regional department of the Rospotrebnadzor Federal Service for Consumer Protection and Human Welfare said.
Fourteen villages suffered economic losses because of the infection. Six settlements remained quarantined. Veterinary services are culling all poultry there and paying compensation to the population. Disinfections measures are being implemented.
Specialists from veterinary and medical services make daily rounds of households checking the compliance with quarantine measures and running medical examination of residents.