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State of emergency in four Ukranian villages |
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KIEV, Sun. --- Ukraine has recorded its first bird flu outbreak, prompting the President to declare a state of emergency in four Crimean villages following the deaths of more than 1,600 chickens and geese. Dead birds in the Black Sea peninsula tested positive for the H5 subtype, officials said yesterday. Bird flu has already been detected in neighboring Romania nearly two months ago, and Ukrainian officials |
scrambled to reassure this nation of 47 million that they were well-prepared. Ukrainians, meanwhile began debating whether to stop buying poultry --- the only meat many in this poor nation can afford. "I don't see any reason for panic, the situation is under control", Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Baranivsky told reporters in Kiev after announcing a 3km quarantine around the four villages. |
Samples were sent to laboratories in Italy and Britain for further tests to determine whether the disease could be the deadly H5N1 strain, which is being monitored for fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transferable among humans. The results are expected by Thursday, Baranivsky said. --- AP.
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