Russia adopting bird flu program
July 2nd, 2006
With health care being the prominent subject at the Saint Petersburg G8 Summit in July, the host nation is ready to present an ambitious plan to fight bird flu spread. Russia has already started work on a vaccine for the disease and the government has moved important funds towards the Vektor research center, a Siberian-based institute which will closely monitor the spread of influenza.
Russia has not yet faced human infections, but 1.5 million birds were killed by the disease or culled in an effort to control it, since February of this year. The center in Novosibirsk is considered appropriate for the task, as it has a medical university nearby and would be able to survey Eastern Europe, as well as Central Asia. The area is of particular importance, as close human and economic contacts in the region are very likely to aid in the spread of the disease.