Russia sets up HQ to fight bird flu

The Russian government say it will set up a headquarters to combat the bird flu epidemic.

According to Russia's agriculture ministry, the lethal bird flu has now been been found in wild birds in six regions of southern Russia and in four of these regions it has also been found in domestic fowl.

President Vladimir Putin has said he believes that bird flu is clearly heading towards Russia and the imminent bird migration period has left little time to deal with the virus.

The new headquarters will be managed by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

A government statement says the virus has been found in wild fowl in Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Chechnya, Kalmykia, Krasnodar and the Stavropol region, and in domestic fowl in Dagestan, Kalmykia, Krasnodar and Stavropol.

In the Krasnodar region, bird flu is also suspected to have hit a large poultry farm; the strain of the virus has not been confirmed as yet.

More than half a million chickens were culled in Russia this year after new cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain were discovered in domestic fowl in Dagestan.

Last year, over 600,000 birds were destroyed in Russia to prevent the virus from spreading.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry has said it is planning poultry vaccination campaigns in areas along bird migration routes.

Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev says this action will fulfill a twofold task, protecting the industrial sector and ensuring the safety of foodstuffs, ensuring human safety.

He says they have a comprehensive plan of action and are working to keep the situation under control.

Gordeyev also says there are sufficient supplies of the bird flu vaccines, which were developed during 2005 to combat the spread of bird flu following outbreaks in Russia's European region, Siberia and the Ural Mountains.

The virus affected domestic poultry and wild fowl, but no human cases were reported at that time.