Bird flu registered in Russia's south - watchdog

MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - Bird flu has been registered in Russia's southern Krasnodar Territory, Rosselkhoznadzor, the agricultural watchdog, said Monday.

"Deaths of domestic fowl were registered at three farmsteads. Lab analysis revealed the H5N1 bird flu virus strain," press secretary Alexei Alekseyenko said.

Russia banned Hungarian poultry imports Friday following the discovery of bird flu in the Central European country.

The deadly strain of bird flu, H5N1, has claimed dozens of human lives since it first appeared in Asia in 2003, and it has since spread worldwide. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form transmissible between humans, sparking a global pandemic.

In 2006, an epidemic of the deadly virus broke out in five Siberian and 11 southern regions, resulting in the deaths and culling of about 1.5 million birds. No human fatalities have been reported in Russia so far.