KALININGRAD, November 10 (RIA Novosti, Alexei Nilov) - Health authorities in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea, denied reports of a bird flu outbreak in the region Thursday.
Chief regional veterinarian Ivan Rusanov said, "Rumors of bird flu in the Kaliningrad region are baseless." He confirmed that 20 birds had died in the village of Timofeyevka but said that media reports linking the pigeon deaths to bird flu were false.
He said analyses had confirmed the deaths were caused by Newcastle disease (NDV), a contagious and fatal viral disease affecting most species of birds, brought by a ringed pigeon from neighboring Poland.
"The infectious situation in the region is stable and under strict veterinary control," Rusanov said, adding that all domestic fowl in the suspected area had been vaccinated.
