Bird Flu Center

Romania is the first European country to have reported bird flu outbreaks in poultry, in September last year and has also had to deal with a massive epidemic just months ago, when hundreds of outbreaks were reported from the Danube Delta to Bucharest and other parts of the country. However, those were eventually contained and the country has received words of praise from the European Union, an organization which Romania aspires to join at the beginning of next year. Now the country is preparing itself for a possible new wave of the disease in the following months. As autumn closes in, a wave of migratory birds is expected, which could spread the H5N1 caused illness again. Romania is crossed  by some major migratory paths for wild birds, that make the country one of the first possible points of entry of the virus into Europe. The country has not reported any human cases of bird flu so far, but with many predictions estimating a flu pandemic is just around the corner, health officials are taking every prevention measure possible. The country is to receive a 30 million euro loan to aid in avian influenza preparation efforts and authorities have just started a nationwide campaign of testing poultry for any bird flu traces. This is to ensure that the disease will be tracked as soon as possible if it arrives in the country again.