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Lethal Strain Of Bird Flu Found In Daghestan

15 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Russian health authorities today confirmed that the lethal H5N1 bird flu has been discovered in the southern republic of Daghestan.

RFE/RL's Russian Service quotes Nikolai Vlasov, deputy head of the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary control department, as saying Russian laboratory tests have confirmed that the H5N1 virus was responsible for the deaths of farm birds in the village of Shamkhal.

Media reports say 3,000 birds have died in Shamkhal in the past 24 hours. The Russian Emergencies Ministry earlier today blamed the deaths on "Newcastle Disease," a highly contagious virus that is fatal for all species of birds but that does not affect humans.

Up to 56,000 farm birds have been found dead in Daghestan in the past week.

Authorities in neighboring Azerbaijan earlier this month confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 virus on their territory.

(RFE/RL’s Russian Service with additional agency material)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org