Russia clears up bird flu outbreaks but awaits more

MOSCOW, Feb 28 (Reuters) Russia has cleared up outbreaks of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, potentially dangerous to humans, in two areas of the country but expects more cases this year, a veterinary official said today.

''It is evident now that the Moscow incident is over,'' Nikolai Vlasov, head of veterinary surveillance at animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, told a news briefing.

''In the Krasnodar region the virus has been isolated at two backyard farms, and veterinary services did not let it out,'' he added.

Since the start of the month H5N1 has been officially confirmed in 11 localities in and around Moscow, with the source traced to birds bought at Moscow's pet market.

Vlasov said investigators were seeking the original source of the outbreak in Moscow, but he suspected it could be traced to a bird brought in from Krasnodar, Azerbaijan or Iran.

The two farms where the outbreaks have been registered are located in Adygeya, surrounded by the southern Russian Krasnodar region, where H5N1 killed poultry in three settlements last month in the country's first outbreak in 2007.

Vlasov said that the number of birds that died or were culled to prevent the disease from spreading was less than 2,000. ''Losses were negligible, but it was a good training exercise for the veterinary services,'' he said.

NEW OUTBREAKS POSSIBLE Vlasov said H5N1 was currently present in wild fowl in Russia and health officials expected it to be carried to practically all parts of the country by migrating flocks in the spring and autumn.

''The time that passes between a wild duck catching the virus and dying is 15 days. This is enough for it to fly from Africa to central Russia,'' he said.

''So we expect new isolated outbreaks of H5N1 in backyard farms, and possibly at small and medium farms (with 5,000-25,000 poutry).

But we don't expect outbreaks at big farms, where the level of protection against bird flu is very high.'' He added that Russian veterinary services have accumulated sufficient experience to take urgent measures to deal with new outbreaks of bird flu.

The virus has killed 168 people worldwide since 2003, mostly in Asia and in cases where the victims have been in direct contact with infected birds. A total of 275 cases have been recorded in humans.

Health experts fear the virus could mutate into a form passing easily between humans, sparking a pandemic that could kill millions.

Vlasov ruled out the possibility of humans catching bird flu in Russia from birds.

''People just don't keep fowl inside their dwellings where they live themselves,'' he said.

REUTERS BDP PM1806