Russia suspects bird flu in more farms near Moscow

MOSCOW, Feb 20 (Reuters) Russia suspects the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu that can threaten humans has hit two more localities around Moscow after being confirmed in five other districts, a veterinary official said today.

''We are as yet unable to confirm the strain (in the two new areas), but the pattern is the same as in the previous cases,'' Nikolai Vlasov, head of veterinary surveillance at animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, told a news briefing.

He did not name the localities. All fowl at the affected farms have been culled and the farms were isolated.

Russia's Emergencies Ministry said in a statement today that 190 domestic fowl had died between February 10 and February 19 in Moscow and six districts in the Moscow region -- Domodedovo, Odintsovo, Podolsk, Naro-Fominsk, Taldom and Volokolamsk.

Rosselkhoznadzor said yesterday that H5N1 had been confirmed in the first five districts.

Later today, Russian news agencies quoted the Moscow region's animal health service as saying 75 hens had been found dead at a private farm in another town, Ramenskoye.

Vlasov said he expected more cases of bird flu to be registered in the region in the near future, all of which could be isolated and extinguished within two or three days.

He said Rosselkhoznadzor expected new outbreaks of bird flu in the country and elsewhere in Europe later this year after migrating birds start arriving from the south.

''We believe that new outbreaks of bird flu are possible at least in the next two years, but I think we will be able to cope with it both here and in Europe,'' Vlasov said.

Health officials have traced all the outbreaks around the capital to birds bought in the last two weeks at Moscow's Sadovod pet market, commonly known as ''Ptichka'', or ''Birdie''. The market remained in quarantine on Tuesday.

The outbreaks are Russia's second instance of bird flu this and the first ever recorded close to the capital. H5N1 killed poultry in three settlements in the southern region ofKrasnodar last month.

No human cases of bird flu have been recorded in Russia.

The virus has killed 167 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia and in cases where the victims had been in direct contact with infected birds. A total of 273 cases have been recorded in humans.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that passes easily between humans, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions. Five people have died from eight cases in Azerbaijan, which borders Russia to the south.

REUTERS MS ND1800