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H5N1 Wild Bird Flu in Alma Alta Kazakhstan?
Recombinomics Commentary
August 24, 2005
In The alakol'skeye region of Alma Ata region of Kazakhstan is fixed the loss of wild birds.
As reported "interfaksu" the chief specialist for provincial territorial administration of the Ministry of Agriculture Of serik Of sembayev, about the loss of birds in the lake last Wednesday into the administration of region reported the fishermen from the villages Of uyaly and Alakol'.
The colleagues for the administration of the Minsel'khoz - Ministry of Agriculture, oblccS, sanepidemiologi and ecology arrived in the lake revealed on the shore of the reservoir of 12 small carcasses of wild ducks.
The machine translation above raises the possibility that H5N1 wild bird flu has begun to migrate to the south. Samples were collected and sent to Almaty for testing.
The region has also been quarantined. The lake is located about 60 miles southwest of Tacheng in Xinjiang, which is where there was an H5N1 outbreak in ducks and geese in June. Tacheng borders Kazakhstan (see June map). The reported wild bird deaths, if confirmed to be H5N1, would marker a H5N1 location that is furthest south and east in Kazakhstan (see August map).
Although there have been announcements that H5N1 is contained in Russia, the large number of confirmed or suspect H5N1 sites, especially in the Novosibirsk region, suggests that migratory birds are getting ready to migrate and/or additional H5N1 infected birds are arriving from northern Siberia, as predicted by the latest OIE report from Russia.
Migration south should begin in earnest next month, but the deaths reported above may be the leading edge of the migration will likely spread H5N1 into regions that had not previously reported H5N1 infections.
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