Remote Russian province faces bird flu outbreak
July 2nd, 2006
The Russian emergencies ministry announced last Tuesday, through its Siberian office, that a violent outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus discovered in the Tuva Republic is causing the death of more and more birds. Since June 15th more than 1,600 birds were found dead around the Ubsu-Nur Lake situated in the Ovyursky district of the republic. The virus was confirmed after laboratory testing and concerns that it could be spreading even more are intensifying. Unofficial reports from Russia indicate a greater figure, of over three thousand dead birds found in the province just north of Mongolia.
The outbreak is thought to have its origin in the Qinghai Lake epidemic of 2005, where over 5,000 birds were found dead, primarily bar headed geese. This only adds to the worries that 2006 will see the spread of the virus to more countries and become a real threat to world health.