BUCHAREST (AFP) - The spread of the bird flu virus seems to be slowing down in Romania, with only two new sites detected in the last 24 hours, after an onslaught of cases in the past two weeks, the agriculture ministry said.
"In total, 46 bird flu sites have been confirmed in Romania (since the virus re-emerged in the country two weeks ago), two more compared to Tuesday," ministry spokesman Adrian Tibu said Wednesday.
The sites spread over 10 counties and the capital, where several hundreds of residents in a poor southern neighbourhood were still under quarantine Wednesday.
According to veterinary doctors, some 390,000 birds from 43 sites have been culled and the affected farms have been disinfected.
Wednesday, President Traian Basescu criticised veterinary health authorities for not yet identifying the source of the virus, and called on the government to better coordinate efforts to stem the disease.
Basescu also said he was "deeply disappointed" with a Romanian intelligence service (SRI) report that said imported turkeys from Hungary were responsible for spreading the potentially deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in Romania.
Following denials from the Hungarian exporter -- who said he had never had a case of bird flu among his birds and had never even bred turkeys -- as well as from police, the prosecutor's office and the National Veterinary Health Authority, the SRI apologised, saying it had meant chickens and not turkeys.
"This report discredits the SRI," said Basescu, who chaired a meeting of the government on bird flu Wednesday, as newspapers ridiculed Romanian intelligence for its mistake.
"The turkeys died of laughter", not of bird flu, the daily Gandul wrote, while Cotidianul reported that "SRI officials were the laughing stock of sick turkeys".
SRI director Radu Timofte said Wednesday that he had dismissed an intelligence official for "malfunctions in his performance".
"All the information and data we have relating to bird flu will be reassessed," the SRI said in a statement.
Newspapers said the SRI report could lead to a diplomatic crisis with Hungary, whose ambassador to Bucharest has already asked the foreign ministry for an explanation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060524/hl_afp/healthfluromania_060524170335 - link
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