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Georgia Imposes Emergency Bird-Flu Measures

27 February 2006 -- Officials in Georgia's semiautonomous region of Adjara have begun implementing safety measures in an effort to prevent the possible spread of avian flu from birds to humans.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on 26 February declared a state of emergency in Adjara after local laboratories detected bird flu in dead swans found in the Black Sea coastal village of Adlia.

Local veterinary officials said the birds died of the H5N1 strain of the virus that is potentially fatal to humans. Samples have been sent to laboratories in London and Venice for official confirmation.

Authorities have ordered the killing of all domestic fowl within a 3-kilometer radius of the village where the dead swans were found. They are also confiscating hunting weapons to prevent hunters from possibly touching sick birds.

H5-type bird flu has also been tied to fresh bird deaths in southern Russia.

Pakistan says it has also detected bird flu in the country's northwest border region with Afghanistan.

(compiled from agency reports)

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