(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-30 10:00

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree on Thursday, lifting the state of emergency in the bird flu-affected Crimea peninsula, the presidential press service said.

An outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu epidemic in the region has been eliminated and authorities will take necessary measures to prevent new cases, said the press service.

Nearly 70,000 domestic fowls have been culled in Crimea so far since Ukraine reported its first outbreak of the disease in a dozen villages on the peninsula in early December.

The local government paid 1,460,000 hryvnya (about 290,000 U.S. dollars) in compensation to villagers who suffered from the culling.

The Agricultural Ministry confirmed on December 3 that the H5 sub-strain bird flu virus was detected in villages in Crimea. Yushchenko then announced a state of emergency in the affected areas.

Up to now, no human cases of the disease have been reported in Ukraine.

The H5N1 bird flu virus, which experts fear might mutate into a new type that easily transmits among humans, has killed more than 70 people in Asia.