The previous cases of bird flu in Ukraine were registered in 2008 / Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine has reported an outbreak of a highly contagious bird flu virus among backyard birds in households in southern Kherson region for the first time after an eight-year break, according to the Ukrainian government.
Samples taken by veterinary services from the dead birds in the village of Novo-Oleksandrivka in Kalanchatsky district after an increase in mortality showed a positive result for highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza, the Ukrainian authorities said.
According to Ukraine's biosecurity service, the total number of poultry kept by all private farms in the said village is about 4,500 birds of various species.
The local authorities approved a plan to eliminate the disease and drew the borders of the bird flu outbreak and buffer zones.
All necessary measures are being taken to localize the virus and prevent its dissemination.Read alsoUkraine uses all 2016 quotas for poultry meat exports from EU
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian biosecurity service earlier banned the import of birds from some areas in Germany and Austria in connection with avian flu outbreaks.
It was not clear whether the cases in Novo-Oleksandrivka contained the H5N8 virus, which has been found among wild birds and farms across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Read alsoReuters: Ukraine halts Austria poultry imports over avian fluThe agency also limited imports from some areas in Hungary and Bulgaria in connection with outbreaks of Newcastle disease, which affects birds and is transmissible to humans.
The previous cases of bird flu in Ukraine were registered in 2008. The affected areas were locations in Crimea, where four cases of avian flu were reported.