Poultry farms around the capital were under tight control after animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said at the end of last week that several birds died from the virus in villages around Moscow. 

"Laboratory tests confirmed that H5N1 bird flu found in five regions around Moscow was highly pathogenic and potentially dangerous for humans, and is probably related to the Asian type of the virus," Nikolai Vlasov, a senior Rosselkhoznadzor official, told Itar-Tass news agency.