Four hens discovered dead in a remote Romanian village in the Danube Delta have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus, the government said today.

A heron has tested positive for bird flu in eastern Romania near the border with Moldova, officials said today.

The European Union today said it was extending a ban on the importation of pet birds and feathers to cover most of Russia.

Tests on 2,000 birds collected in recent days across Romania show the bird flu virus has been limited to the Danube Delta, the Romanian Agriculture Minister said today.

A swan has been discovered with bird-flu antibodies near the Ukrainian border, Romania’s agriculture minister said today.

Romania’s agriculture minister said today that no new cases of bird flu were discovered in tests on 400 more birds from the country’s Danube Delta region.

Romanian authorities were culling thousands of domestic birds in the Danube Delta region to prevent the spread of a deadly strain of bird flu that has decimated flocks and killed dozens of people in Asia.

A BIRD flu epidemic could kill as many as 10,000 people in Ireland, according to Department of Health figures.

Authorities were culling thousands of domestic birds in Romania today to prevent the spread of a deadly strain of bird flu that has decimated flocks and killed dozens of people in Asia.

IRELAND and other EU countries have agreed to take steps to ensure poultry does not come into contact with wild birds that may carry the avian flu virus.

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.