"The infection cannot be contained, and it is impossible to isolate a separate region," Chief Veterinary Inspector Yevgeny Nepoklonov said at a session of the coordinating council of the Siberian Agreement Interregional Association. "The problem will have serious consequences for the environment, the economy, and primarily for human health."
According to the official, as many as 120,000 birds have been incinerated in the infected regions of Russia.
The official stressed the necessity for anti-epidemic, sanitary, and veterinary measures, such as restoring rural veterinary stations and amending relevant legislation.
David Suarez, an expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said the virus had spread to Russia from Southeast Asia during the spring bird migration.
He cited South Korea, which managed to contain the outbreaks and incinerated infected poultry.
The American expert said the possibility of creating a vaccine that could protect against all strains of bird flu was extremely low.
"The virus has recently become capable of not only overcoming an inter-species barrier to infect people but also of causing serious diseases," he said.
According to Suarez, the first outbreak of bird flu was registered in China in 1996, and the first case of people contracting the disease was in 1997. Epidemic outbreaks occurred in Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, and Thailand.
"Now we are witnessing the virus reaching the second stage," Suarez said.
