Bird Flu Raging in Seven Regions of Russia

The deadly bird flu virus has been confirmed in seven regions of southern Russia, a spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture told journalists. The regions are Kabardino-Balkaria, Daghestan, Kalmykia, Adygheya, Kranodar and Stavropol.

In Daghestan alone birds have been found dying in 25 localities and in 3 poultry farms. In the Krasnodar Territory birds have been dying in three localities and at the biggest "Tbilisskaya" poultry farm. In total, according to data of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, 716,000 birds gave been culled or died in the south of Russia as a result of the H5N1 bird flu infection.

Meanwhile, the first-ever case of wild birds dying of the disease has been confirmed in northern Serbia. An official statement released by the Serbian Ministry of Agriculture says that laboratory tests of the tissue of a dead swan confirmed the presence of H5 virus that is considered less virulent. Nonetheless, Serbian authorities intend to send the materials to a British laboratory to establish a definitive diagnosis.