Russia : H5N1 Found At Poultry Farm, 22,000 Birds To Be Culled

The bird flu virus has returned to Russia :

About 500 chickens in the south Russia’s Krasnodar Territory have died of bird flu, a local official said Tuesday.

The outbreak was detected at a poultry farm in the town of Razdolny Sunday. A spokesman for the territorial veterinary service said a regional laboratory has identified the lethal H5N1 virus in the dead birds, and that measures are being taken to contain the spread.

“The decision has been made to destroy 22,000 birds at a farm where chickens died over the weekend,” he said. He did not say how many birds were on the farm in total. Tests are ongoing, and may take up to seven days to produce conclusive results. A local prosecutor said criminal charges might be pressed against the farm’s managers.

The Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations warned last month of a danger of bird flu outbreaks in the Chelyabinsk Region, in the south Urals.