Russia reported on Tuesday a bird flu outbreak in the southern Rostov region, according to news agencies.

A total of 35,000 chickens have died of flu at the Gulyai-Borisovskaya farm since Dec. 5., Itar-Tass cited Southern Regional Center of the Emergency Situations Ministry.

The farm had 500,000 chickens in total and lab tests have confirmed it was the bird flu.

The World Health Organization has warned that the virus could mutate into a form that is highly infectious among humans and easily transmissible from person to person. Such a change could mark the start of a global outbreak.

(Xinhua News Agency December 12, 2007)