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Bird flu outbreak in Romania, near Ukraine

Last Updated: 2010-03-16 10:45:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Romania has identified an outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm close to Ukraine and enforced a 20 kilometre-wide surveillance zone around it, the European Union's executive said on Tuesday.

The outbreak of the H5N1 virus in the commune of Letea near the Ukrainian border is the first detected in Europe since it was found in a wild duck in Germany a year ago.

"Romania's national laboratory confirmed yesterday that the outbreak concerns the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza," the European Commission said in a statement.

"In order to limit the spread of the virus, the Romanian authorities applied immediately the necessary control measures laid down in EU legislation," it added.

All birds in the farm will have to be slaughtered, a 6 kilometre-wide protection zone will have to be enforced around it, surrounded by a 20 kilometre-wide "high risk" surveillance zone with strict movement controls.

"Gatherings of poultry and other birds are banned, and on-farm bio-security measures must be strengthened," said the Commission.

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