November 14, 2005

Romanian authorities lift bird flu quarantine of village

Romanian authorities Friday ended a month-long quarantine of a Danube Delta village where domestic fowl were infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, officials announced.

Authorities culled all domestic birds in the delta villages of Ceamurlia de Jos and Maliuc and disinfected the areas after the virus was confirmed.

The quarantine was lifted in Ceamurlia 21 days after the village was last disinfected.

"I have just left the village and can tell you that all restrictions have ended. Life is continuing as normal," Gabriel Predoi, who heads the National Agency for Animal Health, told The Associated Press.

He added that residents are still being told to prevent their chickens from leaving their yards to minimise the risk of coming into contact with migrating birds that might be carrying the virus.

Travel companies in the delta say they have lost more than EUR10 million (US$12 million) since the virus was confirmed in the delta villages of Ceamurlia de Jos and Maliuc, and have lobbied for easing restrictions for people who want to visit the region.

The H5N1 strain of avian flu has devastated poultry stocks and killed at least 62 people in parts of Asia since 2003. Health authorities worry it could develop into a form that is easily spread to people, sparking a human flu pandemic.

Several cases of the H5N1 bird flu were found in Europe recently, with birds testing positive for the virus in Romania, Russia, Croatia and Turkey.