December 21, 2005

Another bird flu outbreak in Romania

A new bird flu outbreak in poultry was confirmed on Dec 20 in the south-eastern Romanian town of Chichinetu, said veterinary health authority official Gabriel Predoi.

The laboratory in Bucharest confirmed the presence of the H5 virus in poultry in Chichinetu, the 19th area in Romania where bird flu was detected, he added.

Poultry from nearby farms have been slaughtered and decontamination measures are in place. The capital Bucharest has also put up precautionary measures.

Another health authority official, Teodora Ciolompea, added that the risk of the disease spreading is still high.

Most of the cases in Romania have been in the Danube river delta to the east, located on a major migration path of wild birds. More than 100,000 poultry have been slaughtered in Romania since the first case discovered on Oct 7.