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Poultry Market Source of Bird Flu Outbreak Near Moscow
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=164FB9E:A6F02AD83191E16056E10CDED3DCFA249574F7DCC14957C0 Tests are being
carried out on dead birds to determine if they carried H5N1 strain,
which is deadly to humans





A veterinary official blocks access to a house where bird flu killed
some domestic birds, in Pavlovskoye, some 20 km south of MoscowA
senior Russian veterinary official says a bird and animal market in
southern Moscow is the source of last week's bird flu outbreak on
nearby farms.

Alexei Alexeyenko said Sunday the section of the market where the
outbreak began has been closed. Tests are also being carried out on
the dead birds to determine if they carried the H5N1 strain, which is
deadly to humans.

Russian authorities say they found bird flu on two farms south and
north of Moscow. They say they do not yet know the origin of the dead
birds found in the market, but the Moscow region's chief veterinary
official, Valery Sitnikov, said bio-terrorism cannot be ruled out.

The H5N1 bird flu strain has killed 167 people since 2003. Most of the
victims were Asians.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.




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