Case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Russia

The OIE said the virus killed 506 birds in a group of nearly 500,000 birds on a farm in Harino. Another 1,223 birds were slaughtered. Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture has not specified what kind of birds have been affected by the highly pathogenic bird flu.

So far there have been no reported cases of transmitting the bird flu virus from birds to humans, but the discovery of such outbreaks has forced the start of slaughter campaigns, and farmers have been ordered to keep the birds closed.

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has called on the 180 member states, including Romania, to increase biosecurity measures on farms, markets and in the poultry trade, to limit the spread of bird flu.

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