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Romania reports 2 new cases of bird flu
1/11/2005 14:17

Romania reported Monday two new cases of bird flu in a swan and a goose in the southeast of the country.

The dead goose was discovered in the county of Constanta three weeks ago while the swan was found dead on a lake of Danube delta in the county of Tulcea.

They tested positive for the H5 subtype of bird flu, the health department of Bucharest confirmed on Monday, but further tests arerequired to determine if they were killed by the deadly H5N1 strain.

The dead goose, which was sent to Bucharest for test after being discovered near the village of Vadu Oii, is an isolated case, said the chief of the health department of Constanta.

However, the local government launched immediately various preventive measures, including disinfecting the area, vaccinating 3,000 poultries in Vadu Oii against bird flu as well as giving flu vaccine injections to local residents.

Romania is the first European nation to report bird flu cases.

An international expert laboratory in Britain has detected the deadly H5N1 strain, which killed at least 62 people in Asia, in villages of Ceamurlia de Jos and Maliuc in Constanta since Oct. 7.

No human case of bird flu has been reported yet in Romania.



 Xinhua news