‘No instances of bird’s flue have been discovered in Sverdlovsk Region so far,’ Alexei Feoktistov, the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Agriculture and Food said to UrBC regarding the recent outbreaks of the virus in some parts of Moscow Region.

‘We don’t think this is likely to happen in Sverdlovsk Region. Our poultry farms are monitored on regular basis, and there also exists a special committee headed by Sergey Chemesov, the Minister for Agriculture and Food. Mr. Chemesov is personally taking care of the question,’ Mr. Feoktistov explained.

‘We haven’t taken any additional steps following reports about the outbreaks of the virus in Moscow Region. The thing is, we are already doing our best: all the regional poultry farms avoid all kinds of extraneous interference, the foodstuffs are provided by well-reputed and reliable suppliers, and workers only handle the birds wearing some special protective uniform,’ he said.

‘Moscow Region is now finding itself in quite a strait, and they will naturally have to do away with all the birds, as was the case in Kurgan Region a while ago,’ Mr. Feoktistov noted.

‘Sverdlovsk Region has a 12 million poultry population; this is why we are paying very close attention to the whole issue.’