May 31, 2006

Romania's bird flu cases burgeoning

Romania found a suspected case of bird flu in the outskirts of Bucharest on Tuesday (May 30) adding to the numerous outbreaks in the last 3 weeks as authorities struggled to curb the disease which is fast spreading across the country.

Most outbreaks were concentrated around an unlicensed poultry farm about 100 miles (170 km) north of the capital Bucharest.

Romania was the first country to detect the virus in birds in Europe last year and it was thought that bird flu was put under control this year, until the second outbreak.

Nearly one million fowl have been culled in recent weeks, mainly in Transylvania, according to veterinary authority spokeswoman Alina Monea.

The government recently announced it would raise the fines for poultry farms which failed to take security measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Romania is struggling to demonstrate its ability to grapple with the problem before its accession to the European Union.