Dr. Ronald Lam said now that the first case of bird flu had been registered in Russia, authorities should focus on developing a comprehensive program to fight bird flu as a preventive measure.
Outbreaks of bird flu, which was first recorded in Hong Kong in 1997, were registered in 13 villages in Russia's Novosibirsk region (Western Siberia) and the Pavlodar region of neighboring Kazakhstan last week.
The expert said the most terrible thing that could happen would be if someone who was already ill with the flu contracted the bird flu virus.
According to Kazakhstan's Emergency Situations Ministry, more than 600 domestic birds died in the village of Golubovka in 10 days. Laboratory research revealed that H1-type flu had caused the mass bird deaths. One of the farm's staff was hospitalized after he displayed symptoms of bird flu. If the diagnosis is confirmed, he will be the first person to have caught bird flu in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
