MOSCOW, January 10 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin instructed the government Tuesday to toughen measures to prevent the spread of bird flu in Russia.
"The instructions envisage tougher control over food markets, which, however, must not affect consumers, tighter border controls, and other preventive measures," Putin said at a meeting with government members.
He also said the required amount of chemical agents and protective equipment had to be made ready to deal with the problem.
"It is time to think about complications that could surface during the spring migration of birds," Putin said. He said Russia shared borders with countries - China, Turkey, Ukraine, and Romania - that were currently fighting the disease.
Putin said the government would have to allocate money for the purpose whenever it was necessary and tasked the prime minister with drawing up an action plan.
Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief doctor, who attended the session, said Russia's Muslim pilgrims currently in the Holy City of Mecca in Saudi Arabia might pose a danger since they had crossed Turkey, where 14 human avian flu cases have been confirmed by the World Health Organization and three children have died of the H5N1 strain of the disease this year.
"The 4,400 pilgrims who will start returning from the holy city on January 19 are a risk group," Onishchenko said. "They traveled to Saudi Arabia via Iran, Turkey, and Jordan. And their way back lies via the Turkish regions affected by the disease."
He said a possible change in their route would be discussed through diplomatic channels, since Jordan had closed its border with Turkey.
Onishchenko also warned that in spring wild birds would migrate back to Russia from Turkey and the Crimean Peninsula, a Ukrainian autonomy on the Black Sea, which reported an outbreak of bird flu at the end of last year.
The last reported outbreak of the disease occurred in Russia in November 2005. It affected vast territories in Siberia, the Urals, and central Russia. No human cases were reported.
