Romania reports bird flu among backyard poultry

Romania has reported an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among poultry, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday, as Europe faces a seasonal upturn in the deadly disease commonly known as bird flu.

The virus was detected in a flock of 47 backyard poultry in the eastern village of Mihail Kogalniceanu, causing the death of four birds, the Paris-based WOAH said, citing a report from the Romanian authorities.

On October 9, it was announced that Australia and New Zealand were bracing for the arrival of a destructive bird flu strain by tightening biosecurity at farms, testing shore birds for disease, vaccinating vulnerable species and war-gaming response plans.

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Oceania is the last region of the world free of the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b avian influenza that has killed hundreds of millions of birds and tens of thousands of mammals since appearing in Asia, Europe and Africa in 2020, littering beaches with corpses and upending the agricultural industry.

On July 25, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) called for urgent regional efforts to combat a rise in avian influenza cases across the Asia-Pacific region.

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