Bird flu kills poultry in Moscow area-Ria

MOSCOW, Feb 16 (Reuters) The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed poultry in the Moscow region for the first time, Russia's chief sanitary expert and head of a consumer watchdog was quoted by Ria news agency as saying today.

''The pathogenicity of this virus for people has not been confirmed. Vets have detected it, they confirm it is the H5N1 strain,'' Gennady Onishchenko said.

Last month Russia recorded its first cases this year of the H5N1 strain in dead domestic birds. The virus was detected in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.

Russia recorded more than 90 cases of bird flu last year.

Most were in southern regions, particularly the North Caucasus area that borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. Several cases were also found in the Siberian regions of Novosibirsk and Omsk.

Reuters KR VP0002