Russia says a strain of bird flu virus found infecting fowl in Siberia is the deadly H5N1 strain that can be transmitted to humans.
A spokesman for the agricultural ministry in Moscow Friday said the investigation of the bird flu outbreak in Russia's Novosibirsk region indicated the need for wider quarantine measures.
The outbreak in Siberia began earlier this month when large numbers of chicken, geese and other fowl began dying.
Strains of the virus have been hitting flocks throughout Asia, and more than 50 people in southeast Asia have died from exposure to the virus since 2003.
Health experts fear a global pandemic if the virus mutates into a form easily passed among humans.
Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.
