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Wild Bird Deaths in Tuva Signal H5N1 Move to Japan?
Recombinomics Commentary
September 17, 2005
Two wild birds - a duck and a magpie -- have been found dead near Lake Sharonur in the republic of Tuva - the first such case among wild birds reported.
A group of specialists from the Emergencies Ministry and epidemiologists work at the site, the Emergencies Ministry's Siberian regional centre told Itar-Tass
The wild bird deaths described above may signal more H5N1 wild bird flu in southern Russia, just north of outbreaks reported in Mongolia. Mongolia invited WHO to help control the wild bird deaths which were H5N1 positive. Last week there was a larger die off involving 123 birds in Buryatta, which is adjacent to Tuva (see map). The deaths in Tuva, Buryatta and northern Mongolia may be signaling new movement of migratory birds toward warmer regions.
New H5N1 deaths were also reported in Chelyabinsk, wwhich may be signaling movement of H5N1 toward the Caspian and Black seas regions, which is expect to begin at this time of the year. The continued geographical spread is cause for concern. Prior to July, there had been no reports of H5N1 in Russia, Mongolia, or Kazakhstan. These most recent outbreaks indicate the geographic spread of H5N1 will expand.
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