BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – A swan has been discovered with bird flu antibodies near the Ukrainian border, Romanian agriculture minister said Oct. 17.
heorghe Flutur said that the bird from the village of CA Rosetti, in the Danube Delta some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Ukraine, had tested positive at a laboratory in Bucharest. He did not specify whether the bird had been found dead or had been culled by authorities.
Flutur also said several swans and a wild duck had also been discovered with antibodies in the villages of Ceamurlia de Jos and Maliuc, two localities where the bird flu has already been detected.
Antibodies indicate the birds have been either infected with a bird flu virus at some point or been vaccinated against bird flu. Swans and ducks are not normally given flu shots.
Officials confirmed Oct. 15 that the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain had been detected in Ceamurlia de Jos, as well as in Turkey and Russia.
The new cases in Romania will subjected to further tests to determine whether the birds carry the bird flu virus, Flutur said.
Flutur said that he would implement a regional strategy involving neighboring Moldova and Ukraine, and officials from the three countries will meet in Odessa, Ukraine, on Oct. 18.
Scientists fear the H5N1 strain, which is deadly but difficult for humans to contract, could mutate into a form more easily transmitted between people, and lead to a pandemic.
The European Union has banned all poultry imports from Turkey and Romania in an effort to limit the disease’s spread.
Romanian and Turkish authorities also have culled thousands of domestic birds in recent days.
Flutur said costs from testing, disinfecting and culling birds had cost Romania 5 million lei ($1.7 million; 1.4 million euros) so far.
He said that the culling of thousands of birds in Ceamurlia de Jos had ended, adding that in a week young chickens would be introduced to the village for one month to see whether they contract the virus.Due to the outbreak, Flutur said that fishing and hunting had been banned and organized excursions to the Danube delta stopped. Tour operators complained Monday that they would lose an estimated 10 million euros ($12 million).
