Hunting ban in eastern Romania after bird flu found

Authorities today banned hunting in an eastern Romanian county after birds in three villages tested positive for the H5 subtype of bird flu.

Authorities in the Braila county will also continue to monitor wild birds, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Meat, sugar and oil was sent to local residents after authorities killed 15,000 domestic birds.

Further tests in a laboratory in Britain will determine whether the virus is the deadly H5N1 strain, which is being monitored for fear it could mutate into a form that is easily transferable to humans, the statement said.

Preliminary tests yesterday detected the virus in the villages of Bumbacari and Dudescu. On Sunday, in the nearby village of Scarlatesti, a turkey tested positive for H5, prompting authorities to impose a quarantine. All three villages are in Braila county.

Some 600 domestic birds will be culled in Bumbacari, and another 5,400 in Dudescu, local officials said.