Bird flu breaks out in 8 Moscow districts

Since the first domestic birds died two weeks ago in the capital’s Sadovod market, eight more districts in suburban Moscow were found to harbor H5N1-infected birds.

The highly pathogenic Asian-type bird flu virus has killed at least 333 domestic birds since February 9. More birds are being slaughtered and villages have been quarantined in a desperate effort to stop the outbreaks.

Fortunately for veterinary officials, all the first five outbreaks could be traced to one location – the Sadovod market, commonly known as “”Ptichka” (”Birdie”), Moscow’s best known pet market. This makes it so much easier for health officials to trace the movement of possibly infected birds, quarantine infected areas and determine possible human cases. So far, no humans have reported any flu-like symptoms.

Sources:

Russia confirms bird flu outbreak

Official: Avian flu confirmed in Moscow