MOSCOW, August 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia needs to develop a federal program to stop the spread of bird flu, a scientist from the Russian Agricultural Academy said Wednesday. The director of the academy's National Veterinarian Poultry Research Institute Eduard Javadov said at an Internet press conference that Russia must unite forces in the sanitary and veterinary areas to rigorously control the spread of the disease.

Produce should not be transported from affected regions, thorough sanitary measures must be taken and birds should be culled in infected farms, he said.

Vaccines must be developed and produced against bird flu both for people and for birds, he said.

"With this in view, the government must, in our opinion, finance the research and production of vaccines, to develop a strategic reserve," he said. The institute could achieve this within 2-3 months, he said.

If domestic birds are immunized, he said, wild birds will not be able to infect them. This will interrupt the epidemic chain and curb the spread of the disease, he said.

All relevant ministries and research centers in the country should be involved in the project, Javadov said.