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Bird flu fears abound

There was another series of cases of the bird flu discovered in Russia this past Monday, raising further fears that the disease would spread across Europe sooner rather than later. Twelve hens were killed last week by the H5N1 strain of the avian flu at a private home in Tambov, which lies 250 miles southeast of the capital of Moscow. H5N1 is the strain scientists fear could mutate and infect humans on a massive scale.

Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, China has reported a fresh outbreak of the bird flu in the People`s Republic`s eastern province of Anhui, with 2,100 birds infected, 550 of them dying with another 45,000 culled.

Finally, the Health Ministry of Indonesia said Tuesday that testing confirmed a 23-year-old man from Jakarta who died in September did so from the H5N1 virus strain of bird flu that had killed three others in that country.