Bird Flu Center

Russian authorities have confirmed yet another case of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus in the area around the country’s capital city, Moscow. Officials claim that the virus originated from the Sadovod pet market, which is now scheduled to be shut down. It is the sixth location in the region where bird flu has been found, while three other cases are being researched. 43 people that have been in contact with infected birds are now kept under medical observation, but there is no confirmed case of an infection to humans.

Strict measures have been taken in the cases of several poultry farms in the Moscow region. A highly pathogenic form of the bird flu virus was identified at two farmsteads and now access to poultry farms is limited, while the local personnel is kept under permanent medical surveillance. One other measure taken is that any wild bird that appears in the vicinity of the poultry farms will be shot down. The exact virus strain is not known yet, but tests are being carried out to identify the virus correctly.

Measures to counteract the highly pathogenic bird flu virus have been stepped up in Eastern Russia, with the fall migration of waterfowl creating the risk of another outbreak of the virus in new areas. Health workers are collecting 1,100 blood samples from migratory and domestic birds from the Primorye Territory in a program that was started in July this year. No avian influenza case has been reported yet, as domestic birds were vaccinated against the disease in the spring. Five Siberian and 11 southern regions of Russia were affected by the disease this year, with 1.5 million birds dying or falling ill because of this. However, the outbreaks were eradicated and all quarantine restrictions were lifted in August. Siberia is in the vicinity of Asian countries that have been heavily affected by the disease. Local administration has opened a center to fight the disease and allocated funds to buy medicines for a large scale vaccination campaign, as well as setting up mobile veterinary teams.

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.

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.