Bird Flu Outbreak Spreads Across Parts of Aisa

There are currently four different bird flu outbreaks in various areas of Asia at the moment including one in Russia.

The highlights of each outbreak are detailed below by region. So far bird flu outbreaks have taken 235 human lives worldwide since 2003 when the strain was first identified in China.

Research is being conducted to see if each is connected to the deadly H5N1 strain though in at least one case it is confirmed to be the H5N1 strain. Though experts are worried since this strain is usually linked to the winter migratory season and not generally seen in April.

Russia

In the village of Vozdvizhenka, Russia there is a confirmed Bird Flu outbreak. Russia's agriculture ministry which confirmed the bird flu outbreak in the Far East region of Primorye which was quarantined after scores of chickens died, and are quoted as saying “In two days, 28 out of 42 hens and guinea fowl died on a farm."

Authorities cordoned off the village, killed all other fowl on the farm and vaccinated birds in the village and nearby areas, the ministry said. The dead birds had been incinerated, they added.

South Korea
The latest outbreak of the virus was confirmed on a farm in Yeoungam, about 236 miles southwest of Seoul, South Korea. This is the 4th outbreak in the country in the last month, previous to which the country had been free of the virus for over a year.

So far, Korean officials have slaughtered more than 1 million birds in an attempt to control the outbreak of the virus.

Within the site of the latest outbreak, workers have culled an additional 470000 chickens as precaution.

In another part of the country the bird flu outbreak at a duck farm in Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province proved to be a highly pathogenic strain that can affect humans, it emerged Monday. It follows a similar outbreak at a chicken farm in Gimje in the same province.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the outbreak reported on April 3 by a duck farm in Jeongeup turned out to be of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza.

India
Also officials in the Indian State of Tripura have ordered the culling of about 40,000 birds after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed.

They say the virulent H5N1 strain has been detected in poultry in nearly 40 villages bordering Bangladesh.

The culling of birds would begin from Tuesday, they said.

Earlier this year, West Bengal reported an outbreak of avian influenza. In Bangladesh, the epidemic has spread to more than half the country.

The first outbreak of avian flu in India was in the western state of Maharashtra in 2006.

So far no cases of human infection have been reported either in India or Bangladesh.

Here are some excellent resources on Bird Flu From the BBC WHO CDC

Sources for the article were taken from and compiled from various news sources including The Times of India BBC and news.xinhuanet.com