Russia takes measures to prevent bird flu

MOSCOW, August 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's chief doctor Gennady Onishchenko has signed an order on additional measures to prevent bird flu spreading, the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare said Tuesday. The heads of local executive bodies were advised to adjust regional plans to prepare for a flu pandemic and to make more financial allocations to ensure that supplies of medicines were in place.

The federal service also asked the Interior Ministry to provide assistance for veterinary quarantine measures against bird flu outbreaks and recommended that people who had come into contact with infected birds to receive a vaccination.

The service said that the virus was dangerous for humans although no one had yet contracted bird flu and urged federal bodies to take additional coordinated measures to prevent the virus from spreading.