#12,976
Overnight FluTrackers (h/t Gert van der Hoek) picked up a Russian media report of an avian flu outbreak in the Kostroma Region, roughly 200 miles north and east of Moscow. I've done a bit of digging through the labyrinthine workings of the Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor network of regional websites and found the following brief announcement.
About Influenza identify birds in the territory of the Kostroma region
December 20, 2017
The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance reports of avian influenza in the territory of registration of the Kostroma region.
December 19, 2017 on the results of studies conducted FGBU "Federal Center for Animal Health", Vladimir, in a sample of the internal organs of chickens owned by JSC "Poultry Kostroma" (Kostroma region Kostroma region) revealed the genetic material of the virus and the avian influenza A subtype H5 identified.
Currently, the disadvantaged section are specialists of the State Veterinary Service of the Kostroma region under the control of the Office of Rosselkhoznadzor for the Kostroma and Ivanovo regions. Measures are being taken to eliminate the disease in unfavorable point.
Thus far, the scattered reports of avian flu we've seen coming out of Russia this fall (see Russia: Rosselkhoznadzor Reports Avian H5 Detected In Rostov Region) have all been reported as being HPAI H5N8, similar to last winter's epizootic strain.
With a newly reassorted H5N6 virus now reported in both Northern Europe (Netherlands) and East Asia (South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan), we'll have to wait for further analysis before jumping to any conclusions as to subtype.
Although this new H5N6 virus is not spreading with anywhere near the same vigor as did H5N8 last winter, turning up in two areas 10,000 miles apart within weeks of each other is a pretty good trick, and suggest this virus may have some staying power.
Hopefully we'll get clarification on the subtype from the OIE in the next couple of days.
