Moscow on alert as bird flu strikes at three sites near capital

POULTRY farms around Moscow were under tight control last night as a third outbreak of bird flu was found and health officials investigated whether the deadly H5N1 strain had caused the Russian capital's first exposure to the virus.

Russia's animal and plant health watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, expected results by this evening from tests on more than 30 dead birds found in two villages north and west of Moscow, said Nikolai Vlasov, the agency's head of veterinary surveillance. A third case had been found on a farm south of Moscow, where 44 birds had died. People who had been in contact with the dead birds were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, but showed no signs of any illness, he said.

Alexei Alexeyenko, press secretary for Rosselkhoznadzor, said the dead birds had been traced to a market on the outskirts of Moscow and had been brought there from other Russian regions.

The outbreak is Russia's second this year. The H5N1 strain killed poultry in three settlements in the southern region of Krasnodar last month.