Tests so far on suspected bird flu cases in Romania have been negative, the EU has said.

The likelihood of a human flu pandemic is very high, US Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said as he begin a tour of south-east Asia to co-ordinate plans to combat bird flu.

Three domestic ducks have died of bird flu in eastern Romania, but authorities said they had not confirmed whether the birds were infected by the H5N1 strain that experts are tracking in the fear that it could mutate and spawn a human flu pandemic.

FEARS mounted last night that a deadly strain of bird flu has arrived in Europe, following news that authorities are examining the deaths of domestic ducks in Romania.

Officials today restricted access to a village in eastern Romania after three ducks were found dead in the Danube delta and were being tested for bird flu, the agriculture minister said.