Bird flu tests negative in Romania
Tests so far on suspected bird flu cases in Romania have been negative, the EU has said.
Bird flu is very difficult to diagnose, especially in preliminary tests. Samples are usually sent to one of a handful of international expert laboratories for confirmation, in this case, the EU’s reference laboratory in Britain.
“All the tests carried out to date have so far proved negative for avian influenza” in Romania, EU spokesman Philip Tod said yesterday. He said results from similar tests being carried out on samples taken from a suspected outbreak in Turkey would not be known until tomorrow.
He said the tests were being carried out with the assistance of EU experts.
EU veterinary experts met yesterday to review the suspected outbreaks in Romania and Turkey.
They heard from Romanian counterparts which said that tests so far being done in Romania did not find the H5N1 strain of the virus, which experts are tracking for fear it could mutate into a dangerous human virus.
“The available epidemiological data and the laboratory results at present do not confirm the presence of avian influenza,” according to a report drafted by EU experts who were sent to Romania.
Officials stressed, however, that more tests were still being taken of birds in Romania.
The veterinarians also extended a ban on imports of live birds and feathers from Turkey as a precaution until April 30, 2006.
Authorities in Bucharest continued with plans to cull thousands of domestic birds in the Danube River Delta, as local authorities asked the military to dispatch anti-biological weapons teams for help to speed up the culling process in the village of Ceamurlia.
Romania’s agriculture minister, Gheorghe Flutur, said animal health specialists are still working to isolate the suspected virus from samples taken from three birds in which preliminary tests found antibodies to a bird flu.
Thousands of Romanians have rushed to buy an influenza vaccine, causing many pharmacies around the country to run out.
City authorities in Bucharest have also begun a campaign to vaccinate domestic birds against avian flu.
Tod said the EU head office was considering guidelines for member states on how best to protect poultry workers, including whether flu vaccinations could help lower the risk.
He said EU health ministers would address prevention measures at their Oct. 20 talks in London.
Tod said samples from Turkish farms were being sent to an EU laboratory in Britain Wednesday for further tests to determine the type of virus.
