Siberia: In the wilderness, not enough petrol to burn the dead birds
By Damian Grammaticas in Gorodische, Siberia
Even before bird flu arrived in Russia, life in this remote village was tough. The farming settlement of Gorodische is 300 miles from the nearest city, in the middle of the vast Siberian wilderness. It's surrounded by mosquito-laden marshes and huge tracts of empty land. Already at this time of year night-time temperatures fall to a chilly 5C.
Gorodische's remoteness hasn't spared it from bird flu. The virus was brought here from China, by the migrating waterfowl that throng the wetlands. The disease began killing domestic birds three weeks ago. Vediney Zagorov has lived here all his life. His yard is empty. All his chickens have gone.
"Nobody knows exactly where it came from," the old man says. " We think it may have come from one type of duck. But who knows? So nobody can guarantee that it is over now." He says the authorities had warned people that bird flu was infecting other settlements in the area. His neighbour's ducks were first to be affected. But she didn't report the deaths.
"She knew the officials would want to slaughter all her flock. She didn't want that to happen," said Mr Zagorov.
When his own chickens began dying, teams of men came in protective suits and masks to cull the poultry in the village. They tried to burn all of the birds, but didn't have enough petrol for the job. So for 10 days a pile of carcasses was left in Gorodische, until locals complained and the bodies were buried.
Further down the street another old man, Alexander Andreyich, is leaning against his fence. They authorities gave compensation of 100 roubles (£2) for each chicken, 150 roubles (£3) for a duck, 200 roubles (£4) for a goose.
Mr Andreyich took the money. "But it's not much good to me," he says. "What are we going to eat when winter comes? It's the meat and eggs that keep us alive." Several other villagers didn't want money, so they killed their own birds and cooked the meat to eat in winter. But if meat isn't prepared properly it may harbour the virus.
The health authorities in the Gorodische region claim they are doing daily checks on everyone in villages affected by the virus. They produce impressive statistics to back up the claim. But when I asked Mr Zagorov if he's being checked, he laughs. "What do you mean they're checking me? I took my own temperature."
Alexander Yurlov is an ornithologist with the Russian Academy of Sciences. Mr Yurlov's tests show that 10 per cent of the migrating waterfowl in the area carry some sort of virus. He says some birds will already have begun migrating west towards Europe. His advice to European governments is " check birds for viruses, and control places with a high density of waterfowl" . As for keeping all poultry indoors, something the British Government says is not yet necessary, Mr Yurlov says it's a good idea. "It's better not to have contact between domestic and wild birds."
Damian Grammaticas is the BBC's Moscow Correspondent
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By Damian Grammaticas in Gorodische, Siberia
Even before bird flu arrived in Russia, life in this remote village was tough. The farming settlement of Gorodische is 300 miles from the nearest city, in the middle of the vast Siberian wilderness. It's surrounded by mosquito-laden marshes and huge tracts of empty land. Already at this time of year night-time temperatures fall to a chilly 5C.
Gorodische's remoteness hasn't spared it from bird flu. The virus was brought here from China, by the migrating waterfowl that throng the wetlands. The disease began killing domestic birds three weeks ago. Vediney Zagorov has lived here all his life. His yard is empty. All his chickens have gone.
"Nobody knows exactly where it came from," the old man says. " We think it may have come from one type of duck. But who knows? So nobody can guarantee that it is over now." He says the authorities had warned people that bird flu was infecting other settlements in the area. His neighbour's ducks were first to be affected. But she didn't report the deaths.
"She knew the officials would want to slaughter all her flock. She didn't want that to happen," said Mr Zagorov.
When his own chickens began dying, teams of men came in protective suits and masks to cull the poultry in the village. They tried to burn all of the birds, but didn't have enough petrol for the job. So for 10 days a pile of carcasses was left in Gorodische, until locals complained and the bodies were buried.
Further down the street another old man, Alexander Andreyich, is leaning against his fence. They authorities gave compensation of 100 roubles (£2) for each chicken, 150 roubles (£3) for a duck, 200 roubles (£4) for a goose.
Mr Andreyich took the money. "But it's not much good to me," he says. "What are we going to eat when winter comes? It's the meat and eggs that keep us alive." Several other villagers didn't want money, so they killed their own birds and cooked the meat to eat in winter. But if meat isn't prepared properly it may harbour the virus.
The health authorities in the Gorodische region claim they are doing daily checks on everyone in villages affected by the virus. They produce impressive statistics to back up the claim. But when I asked Mr Zagorov if he's being checked, he laughs. "What do you mean they're checking me? I took my own temperature."
Alexander Yurlov is an ornithologist with the Russian Academy of Sciences. Mr Yurlov's tests show that 10 per cent of the migrating waterfowl in the area carry some sort of virus. He says some birds will already have begun migrating west towards Europe. His advice to European governments is " check birds for viruses, and control places with a high density of waterfowl" . As for keeping all poultry indoors, something the British Government says is not yet necessary, Mr Yurlov says it's a good idea. "It's better not to have contact between domestic and wild birds."
Damian Grammaticas is the BBC's Moscow Correspondent
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/redir.php?jid=7cbc2816ec7d4431&cat=c08dd24cec417021