01.03.2006

Russia said it had destroyed 1.35 million domestic and wild birds since July 2005 and planned to start mass vaccination of domestic fowl on March 10 to prevent the spread of the deadly avian influenza virus.
An Emergencies Ministry statement said the latest outbreak of the H5N1 virus, which started in Russia on February 3, had hit domestic fowl in five regions of southern Russia.
All the regions are in the North Caucasus area that borders Georgia and Azerbaijan, where avian influenza was found earlier this month.