KIEV, UKRAINE State of emergency declared after bird flu outbreak

Tests will determine if the disease is the H5N1 strain.
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine recorded its first bird flu outbreak Saturday, prompting the president to declare a state of emergency in four Crimean villages where more than 1,600 chickens and geese have died of the disease.
Birds found dead over the past two months in the Black Sea peninsula tested positive for the H5 subtype, officials said. Bird flu had already been detected in neighboring Romania nearly two months ago, and Ukrainian officials scrambled to reassure this nation of 47 million that they were well-prepared.
Ukrainians, meanwhile, began debating whether to stop buying poultry -- the only meat many in this poor nation can afford.
"I don't see any reason for panic. The situation is under control," Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Baranivsky told reporters in Kiev after announcing a two-mile quarantine around the four villages.
Samples were sent to laboratories in Italy and Britain for further tests to determine whether the disease could be the deadly H5N1 strain, which is being monitored for fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transferable among humans. The results are expected by Thursday, Baranivsky said.
Worldwide attention is focused on the H5N1 strain, which has devastated poultry stocks in Asia and killed at least 69 people in the region since 2003.
Dying birds
Domestic fowl began dying in Ukraine's Crimean region Oct. 18, but the deaths increased significantly last month, rising to 1,621. Positive test results for the H5 strain came back Saturday, Baranivsky said.
He attributed the bird flu to contact between migratory birds and domestic fowl at the Crimea's Lake Savash. The peninsula had been seen as an area of special concern for authorities because it is a landing spot for many migratory birds.
Under the state of emergency ordered by President Viktor Yushchenko, no one will be allowed to enter or leave the quarantine, and experts will visit every home to inform residents to count flocks. Officials also prohibited all sales of domestic fowl and poultry products in the Crimea.
All birds -- even if healthy -- will be slaughtered starting today, and their carcasses will be burned. Residents will be compensated as much as $2 for each culled bird, Baranivsky said.