Ukrainian health officials confirmed a massive die-off of poultry in eight villages to a disease as-yet unidentified but possibly bird flu, dpa quoted Interfax news agency as reporting Saturday. Up to 90 per cent of domestic birds kept in some individual farms in the southern Crimea peninsula were found dead. The highest mortality rates were concentrated in the Sovetsky, Nizhehorodsky, and Emialonovka districts, near the Crimea's marshy eastern coast, the Sivash. The die-offs were concentrated in individual farms, with some farmers losing practically all their poultry overnight, and neighbouring farms remaining unaffected. Total numbers of birds dead were in the "dozens per farm," the report said. "This is unprecedented for the Crimea region," said Maria Miroshinchenko, a health ministry spokeswoman. Crimean authorities had declared a ban on all sales on private farm-produced poultry effective immediately, she said. The ban would not apply to factory-produced poultry products, she added. Health officials were testing carcasses for bird flu, which to date has not been found in Ukraine, but has been detected in neighbouring Romania, Russia, and Turkey. The Crimea region is a major resting point for migrating birds, which are thought to be the main carriers of bird flu. The last month of most wild bird migrations through Crimea however is October. Ukrainian health officials have claimed this year's bird flu epidemic bypassed the country. Ukraine's Health Ministry on Friday removed a ban on Russian poultry imports on Friday.
