Avian Flu Spreads in Romania; FAO to Air Role of Wild Birds
Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy News
2006 May 25

Eleven new outbreaks of avian influenza in birds were reported in Romania today, as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) prepared for a major conference on the role of wild birds in spreading the virus worldwide.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported today that the discovery of 11 more outbreaks means 56 outbreaks have been found in Romania since the virus reemerged there 12 days ago. The report did not list the locations of any of the latest outbreaks.

Avian flu first turned up in Romania in backyard poultry flocks starting last October. The recent outbreaks have involved some large commercial farms and some poultry in Bucharest, the capital, triggering quarantine orders for some neighborhoods this week.

Today's AFP report quoted Marius Dobrescu of the Bucharest mayor's office as saying, "Overnight Wednesday 200 people in the fourth district of Bucharest were placed under quarantine, taking the number of isolated inhabitants in the Romanian capital to 400."

>>> FULL ARTICLE

China Reports 2 New Avian Flu Outbreaks Among Migratory Birds
Forbes.com
2006 May 24

China reported two new outbreaks of avian flu among migratory birds, bringing to four the number of such cases recorded in the northwest over the past month.

A total of 399 bar-headed geese and ruddy shelducks had died from the virus in outbreaks in Tibet's Naqu district and the Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in neighboring Qinghai province, the agriculture ministry said.

The ministry reported on its website that the outbreaks, which it said had happened 'recently,' were confirmed as the deadly H5N1 virus earlier today. Although the two outbreaks had occurred in separate locations, they were linked by the same migratory route.

>>> FULL ARTICLE