More than 300 domestic fowl died recently in Altai, and lab tests confirmed that the deaths were caused by the H5N1 type bird flu, the ITAR-TASS news agency said. The H5N1 strain of the virus can fatally infect humans.

More than 450 domestic fowl have also died in the Omsk region. However, the cause of those deaths is still under investigation.

Experts predict that the flu could spread to Omsk and the neighboring Tyumen region in the following days.

No Human Cases Reported

Regions which are most likely to be affected have taken necessary sanitary measures to prevent the possible spread of the avian flu.

In Novosibirsk, the local administration has earmarked 9 million rubles (315,000 US dollars) to conduct quarantine measures and compensate affected poultry farms.

Meanwhile, mass medical tests are being conducted on humans out of fears that the flu may have been transmitted to people from the infected poultry. Up to the present, no human cases have been reported in Russia.

The veterinary service said the bird flu cases found in Novosibirsk, Altai, and the neighboring Kazakh province of Pavlodar are confirmed to be of the H5N1 strain.

Virus May Mutate

Experts said the virus apparently had been brought to the region by birds migrating from Southeast Asia. They expressed worries that the virus could mutate to an even deadlier strain that could be transmitted from person to person.

So far, cases of H5N1 virus around the world have mainly been transmitted from animal to animal. However, it can spread to humans and has already killed about 60 people in Southeast Asia since 2003.