Russian Bird Flu Heads West

Russia's bird flu epidemic continued westwards following an outbreak of the disease in Siberia in mid-July, raising fears yesterday that it could spread across Europe.

Inspectors investigated deaths of domestic poultry in Kalmykia, near the Caspian sea, as a mass cull of birds continued in the Urals.

Chickens, geese and ducks were reportedly infected and villages near Chelyabinsk were under quarantine.

More than 13,000 birds have died from the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, which has killed at least 57 people in south-east Asia since 2003. About 112,000 birds in Russia have been slaughtered and incinerated to prevent the disease spreading, the emergency situations ministry said.

Wild fowl are spreading the virus and migratory birds flying out of Russia could carry H5N1 into central Europe, said Oleg Kiselyov, head of the influenza research institute at St Petersburg.

A global pandemic could occur if the strain mutates to a form that could spread easily from human to human.

Poor conditions at Russian poultry farms are thought to have hastened the spread. "There should be no contact between poultry and wild birds," said Pavel Tomkovich, vice-president of the Russian Bird Protection Union.

Russian scientists said yesterday that human vaccines against the virus were expected to be ready by October and would be given to high-risk groups such as veterinarians and farm workers.

The European Union has banned imports of feathers and live birds from Russia since August 12.