Bird flu outbreak kills birds in Krasnodar region

Moscow, Dec 1: Krasnodar, Russia officials said yesterday they have found roughly 4,000 dead wild birds in the region. Doctors identified the disease as bird flu subtype H5. Officials said the outbreak originated with coots in water reservoirs at the west of the region.

The Krasnodar leading veterinary physician, George Gzhailidi, said the bird flu outbreak originated with coots in the Temryuksky District and Anapsky District. The region governor Alexander Nikolayevich Tkachyov said, "At risk is the health and safety of people, of everybody who lives in the region. This is why I make the decision to ban hunting in the districts with mass mortality of wild birds — Temryuk and Anap. Also, a quarantine is being declared for these areas."

Officials started emergency vaccinations of birds on local farms. Officials are also carrying out emergency vaccination of humans in the area.