KIEV, January 29 (RIA Novosti) - The possibility of a bird flu pandemic in Ukraine is high, but the country is ready to deal with it, the health minister said Sunday.
Ukraine was among the countries where the possibility of a bird flu pandemic after the start of bird migration in the spring was high, Yuriy Polyachenko said in an interview with Ukrainian TV Channel 5.
The Ukrainian Health Ministry, the Ministry of Emergencies and the State Borderguard Service are urgently developing a coordinated action plan to face the worst situation.
The Ukrainian autonomy of Crimea was hit with a bird flu outbreak in November 2005. According to official data, laboratory tests have confirmed bird flu cases in 23 locations in the autonomy and more than 150,000 domestic fowl have so far been culled in 40 locations around the Crimean peninsula.
