Moscow tightens control of migrating birds
MOSCOW(RIA Novosti) - Moscow has stepped up control over birds migrating from "unfavorable" regions, a senior veterinary official said Thursday.
"No infection has been identified so far. However, funds have been allocated from the budget to fight a bird flu pandemic if it occurs," said Valery Burkov, deputy head of Moscow's veterinary association.
Burkov said the situation was permanently being monitored at the Moscow zoo, where birds fly from one pond to another. He said a sample of different kinds of birds was regularly shot down for laboratory examination.
According to scientists, the avian virus is unlikely to mutate and affect humans since man shares more germs with the swine than with the bird.
Burkov said only 130 people were known to have contracted bird flu, which was first discovered in 1972.