Kazakhstan says avian influenza outbreak came from Russia

The outbreak of avian influenza recorded in northern Kazakhstan was caused by the same strain of the H5N8 virus recorded in Russia, which poses no immediate danger to humans, Kazakh officials said on Monday.

Kazakhstan has reported several outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in backyards and villages near the Russian border, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) said last week.

Deputy Agriculture Minister Gulmira Isayeva told a news conference on Monday that the virus, which was probably brought to the country from Central Asia by wild birds across the border, has been confirmed to be the H5N8 strain.

She said, however, Kazakhstan has quarantined affected areas in several provinces and will carry out mass vaccination of birds and compensate farmers who have reported tens of thousands of poultry deaths.