#12,098
Although not apparently hit as hard as Europe, we've been following reports of outbreaks of HPAI H5 in Russia since early last summer (see here), plus more recently last December in Astrakhan and in Rostov & Krasnodar.
Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, has posted an update on this year's avian flu activity and we have a report from the Moscow Times on a zoo in the Voronezh Oblast that has been forced to cull more than 150 birds, including 7 protected species.
First the (translated) government report:
On the situation with the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Russia
January 9, 2017
In 2016, in connection with a serious complication of the worldwide situation for avian influenza has begun extensive compared to previous years, the spread of avian influenza in Russia. The monitoring of influenza virus was isolated from wild birds in the lake Uvs Nuur in the Tuva on the border with Mongolia.© Central body
Among poultry in 2016 flu outbreak registered in Kalmykia, Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan and Rostov regions. In addition, in the Astrakhan and Rostov regions registered poultry disease contained in large poultry farms - poultry farm "Harabalinskom" in Kharabali Astrakhan region and in two areas of growing companies "Eurodon" in the October district of Rostov region. In the coming year, highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds registered in the Voronezh region, Voronezh Zoo named after AS Popov in the Voronezh and Krasnodar territory - on Biological pond number 1 of "Vodokanal of Absheron district", in the coastal area of the village Ilyich Temryuk District.
From the Moscow Times, we get this report:
Russian Zoo Euthanizes Protected Birds After Suspected Avian Flu Outbreak
Jan 9, 2017 — 17:29 — Update: 17:43
A zoo in the Russian city of Voronezh has been forced to kill all of its birds after a suspected outbreak of avian flu.
A number of birds at the zoo died of a rapidly-spreading infection during the New Year holidays, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. The decision to euthanize all remaining animals was announced in a statement by the local prosecutor's office on Sunday.
The zoo had been home to 159 different birds of 44 different species, seven of which are protected by Russian law.
In November, Russia announced that two outbreaks of the highly contagious H5 strain of avian flu had infected wildlife in the county's southwestern Kalmyk republic. A further two outbreaks were recorded in December on poultry farms in Krasnodar and Rostov, although the exact strain was not identified.
