30th village in Romania hit by bird flu
Posted: 15-Feb-2006 00:28 hrs

A Romanian health worker tries to capture a domestic bird in Marsilieni, east of Bucharest after bird deaths occured in the village, in December 2005. The H5 strain of bird flu was found in Vlahi in southeast Romania, the 30th village in the former communist country to be hit by the virus

The H5 strain of bird flu was found in Vlahi in southeast Romania, the 30th village in the former communist country to be hit by the virus, authorities said.

Samples taken from birds in the village were sent to Bucharest for further analysis to check for the presence of the H5N1 strain, which can be deadly to humans, local officials said on Tuesday.

On Monday, authorities had begun culling about 30,000 birds in Topraisar, a neighboring village also hit by bird flu.