Night's Black Bird II

"The H5N1 strain of bird flu, potentially dangerous to humans, has spread to birds in more villages in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, the government said on Friday.

The Emergencies Ministry said 15 villages were affected, based on results from tests at Russian laboratories. Officials are awaiting final confirmation from a specialist British laboratory on the nature of the virus found in dead birds.

The ministry said mass deaths among domestic birds had been noted in 27 villages in Crimea, a peninsula jutting into the Black Sea and a a major stopping point on migratory routes.

It said about 60,000 birds had been seized and destroyed in affected villages. A bulletin on Wednesday reported deaths in 25 villages, including 11 with the H5N1 virus confirmed.

Cases of H5N1 have also been found in birds in neighboring Romania and Russia.

President Viktor Yushchenko invoked a state of emergency in several villages after bird flu was detected, with birds seized and slaughtered and police patrolling exclusion zones."

Reuters UK "More Ukrainian villages hit by bird flu" Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:25 PM GMT









Photo credit: http://www.global-one.ru/culture/crimea/did/gallery.htm
Фото © 1998 А.И. Дидуленко