Bird flu harmful to humans found in Siberia

30.07.2005 - 09:53
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A strain of bird flu harmful to humans has been found in Siberia, where thousands of birds have died in an outbeak of the disease, a Russian newspaper said on Saturday, quoting findings by official experts.

The newspaper Kommersant quoted the state veterinary service as saying laboratory experts had found the H5N1 strain in samples from the Novosibirsk region, where an outbreak of bird flu was reported last week.

More than 50 people have died in Asia from the virulent H5N1 strain since late 2003, raising fears it could mutate and form the basis of a global epidemic.